By Victor Ahiuma-Young

LAGOS – WORKERS in the nation’s petroleum industry, weekend, warned that if the Federal Government failed  to pay the billions of debt owed by petroleum marketers within two weeks, the nation could witness another round of scarcity of petroleum products.

Under the umbrella of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the workers, expressed fear over the total collapse of the downstream sector and which may also spread to the upstream because of government’s insincerity in changing its policies, plans and implementation.

President of PENGASSAN, Mr. Babatunde Ogun, said  while there were no new jobs created, government was killing the existing ones, for lack of its planning and inability to meet up with responsibilities and commitments to investors they have business transactions.

He said the association was giving the government a 14-day ultimatum to address some of the concerns of downstream operators or risk industrial unrest.

According to him: “The association calls on government to save the nation from going into extinction.

”While there are no new jobs created, government is killing the existing ones, for lack of her planning and inability to meet up with responsibilities and commitments to investors they have business transactions.

”We are losing members to redundancy day in day out because the companies are folding up, the economic downturn effects on our economy are grounding  the entire industry and our government lacks the wherewithal to tackle this menace as it is done in other proactive and serious nations.

”We are afraid of the total collapse of the downstream sector and fear is griping the upstream too, because of government’s insincerity in changing her policies, plans and implementation processes,” he added.

The association called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, do the following:  the government and her agencies should immediately meet their obligations to their creditors. ”Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Petroleum Equalisation Fund should pay all the marketers their outstanding debts to enable them meet their bank obligations and in-turn stop bank executives from profiteering  on shareholders’ money through non-performing loan  syndrome abracadabra.