Governor Nasiru El-Rufai has been in the news for days now following protest by workers in Kaduna state and his intention to sack workers massively.
However, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has threatened to shut down Nigeria over the attack on peaceful protesters in Kaduna State.
NUPENG further described El-Rufai as arrogant and power drunk.
In a statement on Tuesday, National President and National Secretary of NUPENG, Comrade Williams Akporeha and Comrade Afolabi Olawale, lamented the attack on peaceful protesters in the state.
Leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress and other affiliate union members on Tuesday protested in Kaduna City.
They had earlier declared a five-day warning strike to push the governor to reverse his decision to sack thousands of workers.
But the peaceful protesters were attacked by hoodlums loyal to the state government.
El-Rufai had earlier declared the NLC president, Ayuba Wabba and some other labour leaders wanted and put a bounty on his head for “economic sabotage”.
In the statement, the labour leaders described El-Rufai as despotic and dictatorial.
They therefore called on the Federal Government to caution the governor so as not to push NUPENG to shut down the whole country.
As petroleum and gas workers, a strike action by the union will affect fuel and power supply.
The statement said, “Our union is raising this alarm following the very reliable report of the clandestine move of Governor Nasir El-Rufai to hurt and put the lives of NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and other labour leaders to danger in his usual blind egotistical style of running government in the state.
“NUPENG therefore warns that if any harm is inflicted on any of the members of organised labour, the leadership of the union will not hesitate to call on all our members throughout the nation for a total shut down of all our services in the upstream, mid-stream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.
“In the light of the above, we are therefore putting all NUPENG members nationwide on red alert and may at very short notice of five hours call for a nationwide industrial action if situation arises.”
