Scarcity of petroleum products worsened in Rivers State on Monday as 10 litres of petrol cost N2,500, while there was no end in sight to the ongoing strike by the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and its Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigerian (PENGASSAN) counterpart.
The strike, which enjoys the support of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), was declared last week to protest alleged harassment by the police on the premises of Weatherford Nigeria Ltd.
Members of the union were picketing the firm over alleged unfair labour practices when they had a confrontation with some policemen.
However, state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ahmad Muhammad, denied the allegation of police harassment and molestation of NUPENG members, claiming that the policemen were only drafted to ensure that court bailiffs from the National Industrial Court (NIC) in Bayelsa State discharged an assignment from the court to some staff of the firm without problem.
As a result of the strike, black market operators were having a field day on some of the major streets in Port Harcourt metropolis.
They were making brisk business on major streets and in front of some filling stations in the state capital, Port Harcourt.
“We get products from the filling stations to sell on the streets. It is not our fault. We did not order the strike. We are just doing our business,” one Ebuka, who sells at Amadiama Roundabout said.
Commercial buses had also taken advantage of the scarcity to hike transport fares.
For example, from Rumuokoro to Education bus stop, which before the strike cost N100, now attracts a fare of N150, as bus drivers blamed the fare hike on the scarcity of petrol.
Aggrieved motorists lamented the situation and wondered why the oil workers decided to subject residents of the state to the harrowing experience again.
Mr Agbi Festus, who described the action of the oil unions as an abuse of position, said the matter should have been settled in court instead of punishing innocent citizens.
Meantime, Port Harcourt zonal Chairman of NUPENG, Mr Godwin Eruba, dismissed speculations that the strike had been called off, saying it was still in force.
Eruba confirmed that there was a meeting with the state Police Commissioner, Mr Musa Kimo, on the matter, but said that no agreement was reached.
According to him, the strike would only be called off when conditions given by labour were met. Top among them was the recall of all its members whose appointments were illegally terminated by their employers.
-Vanguard