From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The president of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, has condemned what he described as outright abuse and exploitation of workers in the oil and gas industry by indigenous companies in the country.
President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo (2nd right), with members of the union and guests at the PENGASSAN National Delegates’ Conference held recently in Abuja
Osifo said the problem has lingered for too long and, if it is not addressed immediately, may easily spiral out of control and cause an industrial disaster in the industry.
The PENGASSAN president spoke at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the association held in PortHarcourt, last week noted that one of the main issues, has to do with certain organisations prohibiting eligible members from registering to join the Association in accordance with Nigerian and labour laws.
He added that more decisive action will soon be taken against such management to serve as a deterrent to others.
He said: “Indigenous oil and gas companies play a pivotal role in the growth of Nigeria’s economy. They have immense potential to contribute to the nation’s wealth and provide employment opportunities. However, it is disheartening to witness the exploitation of labour laws and the inhumane treatment of employees by some of these companies.
“One of the major concerns is that some of these companies are preventing qualified members from registering to join the Association as provided in the labour law and in the Nigeria constitution. This deprivation of membership rights is not only a violation of their fundamental human rights as enshrined in all laws and statuses to which the country is a signatory to, but also prevents entrenching a better working condition and protection of the workforce.”
The PENGASSAN boss critisized the amount of delegates that accompanied President Bola Tinubu to the ongoing COP28 in Dubia, United Arab Emirates, saying that it was an example of extravagant spending.
According to him, “it was unjust that the government would be heavily indulging in foreign travel at a time when its people were suffering and its economy was in terrible shape.”
Osifo tasked the government to explain to Nigerians how the large delegation to the climate change summit intend to benefit the people.
“It is completely a waste. Nigerians are suffering and yet you are flying people all over the world to attend jamboree events. Yes, climate change initiative is a good thing, but we are wondering what that number of people are actually doing there,” he charged.
He expressed further “What is the benefit of these people to the Nigerian economy? For us, it is completely a waste of money.
“In fact, the Nigerian government should come up and tell us, these delegations, those that went there, what were the meetings they attended and what is the value proposition that they brought back home that would benefit the common man. It is not to spend taxpayers’ money on such jamborees and at the end of the day, nothing is coming.”
He further urged the federal government to expedite the construction of refineries in order to support domestic refining, pointing out that this is the only way to considerably lower the exorbitant price of petroleum products and lessen the financial strain on Nigerians.
The labour leader pointed out that one of the main factors contributing to the ongoing challenge is Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported refined petroleum products.
Stressing that Nigeria, as an oil-rich nation, has the potential to become a major player in the refining industry, he lamented that due to various reasons, “we have not fully tapped into this potential.”
“I firmly believe that it is high time for the federal government to take decisive action and encourage local refining of crude oil,” adding that by doing so, Nigeria can significantly bring down the high cost of petroleum products and alleviate the financial burden on the citizens.
He further called on all relevant stakeholders to see to the full implementation of the provision of Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly, regarding host communities, stating that, “it would go a long way in addressing myriad of issues plaguing such places.”