The President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo, has disclosed the position of the union on the issue of petroleum subsidy removal, IgbereTV reports
Comrade Osifo said that while the union acknowledged that payment of subsidy for petrol is no longer sustainable, the government must take shrewd measures to ensure the reality of this.
Osifo made this known at the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit 2022 in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said, “It is clearly not sustainable for us to be spending close to 7 trillion in the payment of subsidy. We quite know from the information available to us that the financial situation of this country is in dire straits. We know as well that the amount of money we are using in servicing debt is even getting higher than our revenue, so it shows clearly that we are in dire straits but our leaders must lead by example.
“Today, if you check the budget that was passed, there is what is called Service Wide Vote. The Service Wide Vote today is going to three trillion naira. The accounting system of Service Wide Vote is questionable, we live in profligacy. Today, go to several states and see what our governors are doing.
“They cannot tell us that we are passing through austerity; they cannot tell us that they need our help but they are still living, as usual, we must cut our coats according to our size. We have challenged and told them, why can’t you come out and lead by example and say okay, I am going to cut down on ABC and E and actually you go ahead and do it?
“The National Assembly will come out and say we are going to cut our budget by 50 per cent, and then the same goes across the board. When you have done that it is easier for you to now engage the union leaders.”
The PENGASSAN leader likened the current situation surrounding the subsidy removal between the government and the unions to a man trying to cut costs in his home but going around marrying more wives
