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Tag: PENGASSAN

  • Crude oil theft: Navy, civil defence raise concern

    Crude oil theft: Navy, civil defence raise concern

    The Nigerian Navy and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have raised concern on security measures and way forward to tackle the menace of crude oil theft in the country.

    The security agencies made this known in Abuja at the ongoing maiden edition of the Annual Energy and Labour Summit being organised by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

    The PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit 2022 is tagged ‘’Energy Transition and its Effect on Workforce in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector”.

    Speaking on the “Menace of Crude Oil Theft, Government Response and the Way Forward” Commodore Stephen Ibrahim, Director of Operations, Nigerian Navy said efforts were on ground for acquisition of more equipment to control the water ways.

    He said Nigeria had about 84,000 square nautical lands and one of the largest response along West African coast.

    “You can imagine what it takes to maintain 24 hours presence in our waterways. We can never have enough equipment that is why we also complement it with the use of Maritime Domain Awareness Capacity Equipment.

    “To maintain these equipment take a lot of resources, to fuel an average ship can take six tankers for it to remain seven days at sea.

    “There are other demands that require resources but we try our best to maintain presence at sea.

    “We have three operational commands, eastern , western and central naval commands and each has been directed to maintain two capital ships which is also intensive,” he said.

    He said the naval officers were constantly trained and retrained while the commands and officials were being monitored through cameras from the headquarters as an oversight function to facilitate effective operations.

    “Anyone found wanting for infractions must be surely punished,” he added.

    Speaking on the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) named Heroic Idun that entered Nigerian waters on Aug. 8, 2022, he said the vessel was interrogated to find out if it had NNPC Limited approval or regulatory approval to load.

    According to him, they discovered that it did not have approval which made the Nigerian naval officials to order the ship to follow them pending when they cleared its presence in Nigeria waterways.

    He said the vessel sped up instead of turning while the Captain of Nigerian Naval Ship interrogated the vessel severally which made the ship to respond that it had to get in touch with her agent.

    He decried the fact that most times the collaborators could pose a problem to their operations because a Nigerian shipping agent told the foreign ship not to answer Nigerian Navy.

    He said that the vessel never loaded but came to load and was intercepted, arrested and was still in Equatorial Guinea custody while efforts and talks were ongoing to repatriate it to Nigeria for queries with different charges.

    “A decision was being made not to sink her, a large carrier of millions of metric tonnes of crude to avoid collateral damage rather we allowed it to go into the next country for interception.

    “The best option we could have is that among the coast of Golf of Guinea countries, we have the under architecture, a collaborative effort among the coastal Naval officers where we exchange information on piracy and vessels.

    “So when this vessel continued speeding, we transferred the information to the Equatorial Guinea that the vessel refused to stop and was leaving our waterways, then entering theirs because the vessel already reported to International Maritime Bureau that she was under pirate attack.

    “We are trying to keep a clean slate of not having a pirate attack on our waters,” he added.

    He further explained that the vessel did not load adding that the naval headquarters had frowned and dispelled that information which kept on coming that it loaded three million MT crude.

    Speaking on the vessel which was recently destroyed in Warri due to oil theft, he said the decision was taken at the highest and strategic level involving Chief of Defence Staff.

    The commodore further said that particular vessel had overtime involved in infractions, adding that any vessel being used to do illegal business could be destroyed lawfully to serve as deterrent to those involved in illegal activities.

    On technology deployment, he said technology was always evolving, adding that the NNPC Limited had a control centre which was being operated on collaborative effort to tackle oil theft.

    He said the navy would continue to explore options of using technological equipment to monitor oil thefts in collaboration with other security agencies and international partners.

    Dr Benito Eze, Assistant Commandant General, Directorate of Critical National Assets and Infrastructure, NSCDC while speaking on the way forward, said gradually it was going into electronic surveillance to effectively manage the menace.

    Speaking from NSCDC perspective, he recommended full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act 2022 to get the involvement of the host communities for provision of legal governance and fiscal framework.

    He equally called for full deregulation of the industry by removal of the petroleum subsidy and payment of statutory percentage to the host communities.

  • PENGASSAN accuses Military, Police, others of oil theft

    PENGASSAN accuses Military, Police, others of oil theft

    The President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo, has hinted that the heads of the Nigerian Military, Police and other security agencies collude to steal crude oil in the Niger Delta.

    This revelation was made known during his appearance at the one-day public hearing of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee to investigate oil lifting, theft and the impact on petroleum production and oil revenues

    The seminar was presided over by Senator Albert Bassey Akpan at the floor of the Red chamber.

    Osifo   lamented the involvement of security who post their personnel to the Niger Delta to serve their interest illicitly.

    “The stakeholders all know clearly what is happening. It is not that people don’t know the problem.

    “One of the greatest problems we have, which nobody has highlighted, is that there is a strong collusion of our security forces. There is no doubt about it.

    “From our Army to our Naval officers, we have some information that they pay their superiors to post them to some areas in the Niger Delta.

    “I think the people who have solutions to this problem are not even the ones sitting here. They are the ones you will invite behind the camera.”

    Prior to Osifo’s revelation, the Committee Chairman, Senator Albert Bassey Akpan expressed disappointment and displeasure over endless oil theft  ravaging Niger-Delta  communities.

    He disclosed that committee members have paid a visit to the Niger Delta on sight seeing, stressing that after the inspection of some terminals, they left Port Harcourt.

    Akpan said, “As a Committee of the Senate, we have the privilege of carrying out extensive on the spot assessment of where we found ourselves. It might interest you to know that we spent over seven days in Port Harcourt trying to find out the conditions of onshore and offshore being briefed by the relevant stakeholders.

    “The first thing we needed to do is get a convincing understanding of what the institution is passing through and nobody was happy when we left.

    “As a Committee, when we talk about oil theft, it’s on a daily basis. It’s also not good that the short fall based on our inability to meet the oil quota is as a result of oil theft.

    “Mr President, my distinguished colleagues, we share instances of Bonny terminal which is run by Shell Petroleum. This terminal over a year ago was exporting 60 tankers of crude oil with a minimum of one million barrels of crude oil per tanker per month.

    “But in the last seven months, not one barrel of crude oil has passed through that terminal, so you can imagine the huge loss and we are here as a country struggling to meet up with our economic challenges.

    “The MTEF that has been submitted to us, the Federal government is seeking a budget deficit of over N11 trillion and here we are as a country shutting oil production over 700 million barrels.”

    The committee will draft its report and forward to the appropriate quarters for measures to be taken to stop oil theft in those communities.

     

  • Oil theft: NSCDC arrests 501 suspected oil thieves in eight months, destroys 71 illegal refineries

    Oil theft: NSCDC arrests 501 suspected oil thieves in eight months, destroys 71 illegal refineries

    In line with tackling oil theft in the country, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested 501 suspected pipeline vandals and oil thieves, alongside destroyed 71 illegal refineries.

     

    This was disclosed by NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, at the inauguration of 93 operational vehicles for the corps by Interior Mianister Rauf Aregbesola, Thursday, in Abuja.

     

    Audi said the figure represented some of the achievements of the corps between January and August.

     

    The NSCDC boss said the specialised operational vehicles would be used to combat potential threats to national security arising from felonious acts.

     

    He listed the nefarious acts as crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, smuggling, pipeline vandalism and related crimes within the coastal and offshore areas.

    destroyed 71 illegal refineries and
    NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed AudiNSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi

     

    Aregbesola urged the corps to remain intolerant of anything that poses a threat to the safety and peace of Nigerians.

     

    “Utilise and maintain the vehicles to serve their purpose and ensure to train personnel to operate the vehicles,” he said.

     

    Also, members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) protested yesterday in Abuja, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, and Warri, Delta State. Their grouse was the massive oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

     

    The angry oil workers threatened a showdown with the Federal Government due to the economic implications the massive oil theft in the oil producing region was causing its members and fellow Nigerians.

     

    PENGASSAN President Festus Osifo led the oil workers on a rally to the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

     

    Osifo said the association had repeatedly tried to engage stakeholders in the last one year, to proffer solutions to the problem of oil theft and vandalism, but that the engagements had not yielded results.

    NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi

     

    Also, the NNPC yesterday called for the sensitisation and de-radicalisation of pipeline vandals to enable investors put their money in oil business in the country, especially in the Niger Delta region.

     

    NNPC’s Group General Manager for Security, Abba-Gana Muhammed, said this while receiving the protesters at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on behalf of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the company.

     

    He expressed appreciation to members of PENGASSAN, saying the NNPC boss was also doing his best to protect the pipelines and other oil installations.

     

    Osifo urged President Muhammadu Buhari to give security chiefs a month’s deadline to make progress on investigating security outfits sent to the Niger Delta, and send those culpable for non-performance.

     

    Also, Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has said there was no justification in linking the military with oil theft, operation of illegal refineries and other forms of economic sabotage in the Niger Delta region.

     

    The DHQ was reacting to allegation that some military personnel were invlolved in oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

     

    It said troops were taking enormous risk working in the highly hazardous terrain of the region to protect oil installations and deny oil thieves, vandals and other criminals within the maritime domain the freedom to operate.

     

    The Director Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Jimmy Akpor said the soldiers drafted to the oil producing region were doing their best and achieving good results.

     

    Akpor said: “When you see the terrain where the oil is produced, you will ask, you are the stakeholders in the production and security of the oil and gas. We need to answer that question so that when you’re writing, you will be writing from the point of knowledge.

     

    “This is because the oil companies are involved, the soldiers are involved and the communities are also involved. But they are only making the military the cannon folder. The military is the weeping child.

     

    “If you’re going to protest that soldiers have not done their job, know that soldiers have done their job. The volume of crude oil that has been recovered shows that they are doing their job. The recent arrest of a super tanker that could have taken out 3 million barrels of crude oil unaccounted for also shows that the military is doing their job.”

     

    The Director of Defence Media Operations (DMO), Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami, said troops of Operation Delta Safe had continued the clampdown on oil thieves in the last two weeks.

     

    The military media chief said oil products valued at N1,235,624,462.45 were recovered within the time under review.

     

    Also, PENGASSAN’s Port Harcourt Zone yesterday protested oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region.

     

    Members of the association started their procession from Isaac Boro Park in the Rivers State capital and ended it at the Police Command headquarters.

     

    Their Zonal Chairman Peter Onita said: “We have seen bigger international oil companies (IOCs) that produce more than 30,000 barrels of oil and what will be seen is 3,000 barrels per day.

     

    “As an association, we have been engaging and we will continue to engage the government in the interest to make sure that oil theft and vandalism of oil facilities are put to a stop.

     

    “Today, the OPEC production for Nigeria is put at 1.62 million barrels per day (bpd). As a country, we have the capacity to produce 2 million bpd but because the oil theft, it is difficult. For close to a year now, we have been struggling to meet our quota. Because of this theft, IOCs are leaving the country.”

     

    Rivers State Police Commissioner Eboka Friday said: “The Federal and state governments are not happy with the ugly trend. Since early this year, the governor, in particular, has been very vibrant to ensure that this menace stops.

     

    “Remember early this year, I followed the governor to the bushes to destroy illegal oil refineries. He did not stop there. After that, you realise that the soot reduced drastically.

     

    “On August 19, the governor set up a task force, comprising of the Army, Civil Defence, and the police to fight from all front the war against oil theft.”

     

    Also, hundreds of PENGASSAN members in Warri, Delta State, yesterday protested increasing pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Niger Delta.

     

    Carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs, the oil workers besieged the Delta State Governor’s Office Annexe in Warri around 8 a.m and tabled their grievances.

     

    Their Chairman Audu Oshiokhamele said: “Some companies producing crude oil told us that any time they mine crude oil, before it gets to the reservoir for storage, it’s only water that’s left. And it’s affecting the output of crude production in Nigeria.

     

    “We are telling the government to prosecute those that have been arrested. This is because we know that without government’s involvement in this matter, it will be difficult for the thieves to continue their business.”

     

    Also, PENGASSAN Group Chairman at NNPC Limited in Warri, Prince Emea Okorie, regretted that Nigeria could no longer meet its OPEC target of 1.8 million barrels per day.

     

    He said the country is “presently struggling to meet 1 million barrels per day due to theft”.

     

    Addressing the gathering, the Director at Governor’s Office in Annexe Warri, Mrs. Violet Onowakpokpo, assured the protesters that their grievances would be conveyed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

  • Oil theft is high-tech fraud needing high-tech Solutions – Esele, Former PENGASSAN Boss

    Oil theft is high-tech fraud needing high-tech Solutions – Esele, Former PENGASSAN Boss

     

    A former President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria PENGASSAN, Comrade Peter Esele, has dropped a hint on how the government can eliminate the unabated crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.

    Esele, who is a former president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), said one effective approach is the deployment of technology in the region to stop the collaboration of officials, oil workers, and community members in the big business of crude theft in Nigeria.

    He also identified corruption as the driving factor hindering past and present governments in Nigeria from nipping oil theft in the bud while urging the establishment of modular refineries and the removal of petrol subsidies to prevent further economic losses.

    Esele was speaking during an anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.

    Comrade Esele emphasized that systemic corruption is the main factor holding the Nigerian government back from tackling oil theft headlong.

    According to Esele, the federal government must take advantage of technology to check oil theft: “Federal government can deploy area surveillance, and aerial surveillance these days is not so expensive, we have drone technology, and that can help.

    “It is not just the federal government. Oil theft is affecting you, me, infrastructural development, healthcare, education, and until the federal government decides to stand up and take the challenge frontally, we will continue to talk about it,” Esele warned.

    He revealed that the widespread oil theft is an organized venture run by groups in collaboration with security operatives, faulting the government for being unserious with finding a lasting solution to oil theft but only reacting presently because the country is “financially sick.”

    To curb the menace, Esele, a former board member of the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), urged the federal government first to get the buy-in of the oil-producing communities as the oil theft worsened by their sense of injustice.

    An investigative report by the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) revealed that the volume of crude oil lost to theft and sabotage between 2016 and 2020 can massively provide infrastructure, reduce national debts, and build thousands of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in Nigeria.

    Also, speaking during the radio programme, the founder of Afrisankofa360, Tamunokuro Iyo Obietonbara, advocated strongly that the federal government encourages the setting up of modular refineries and removal of petrol subsidy if Nigeria must reduce oil theft to its barest minimum.

    According to Obietonbara, “Nigerian government is hypocritical because government officials and top security officials are benefitting. They are the ones to a large extent, responsible for the oil theft,” he alleged.

    He advised that the administration after President Buhari must be sincere with exposing perpetrators of oil theft, set up modular refineries, engage the communities, and fully deregulate the petroleum sector.

    “An honest government will have the courage to expose and prosecute those culpable of sabotaging our economy.

    “The incoming govt next year should engage the communities, set up modular refineries, fully deregulate the petroleum sector, let us bear the pain once and for all, take off subsidies, take off the corruption in the sector, and let market forces determine the price,” Obietonbara stated.

    Earlier, a journalist with ICIR, Harrison Edeh, called for all hands to be on deck in the fight against oil thieves in Nigeria, noting that the country cannot quantify the impact of losing about 400 barrels of crude oil per day.

    Edeh said, “everybody’s hand has to be on deck to solve this menace. It is a huge concern because it affects our economy and livelihood, and inflation is rising because we are borrowing overboard.

    He welcomed the launching of an applications platform by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to monitor crude oil theft. Still, He urged the government to establish a conciliatory pact with the oil-producing communities whose environment had been affected by oil exploration.

    “The government must come out straight and strong in its approach. Don’t talk from both sides of the mouth. Find a way to engage relevant stakeholders from that region.

    “Oil remains our mainstay. Everybody must sit at the table to make their demands known. The modular refineries are key, but they should also be guided so they don’t pollute the environment,” Edeh advised.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • What FG should do to remove fuel subsidy – TUC president

    What FG should do to remove fuel subsidy – TUC president

    Mr Festus Osifo, president, Trade Union Congress (TUC), says Nigerians are not averse to the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) but waiting for the government to win their trust over the issue.

    Osifo spoke during a panel session at the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) Strategic International Conference on Thursday in Lagos.

    The topic of the session was “Energy Transition, PIA, Petroleum Pricing and the Way Forward for the Downstream Sector.”

    He noted that majority of Nigerians were not really interested in energy transition but were only concerned about affordable and reliable energy.

    Osifo, who is also the president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), noted that the downstream sector had not achieved its potential due to the thorny issue of PMS subsidy.

    He said apart from communicating with the people to create an attitudinal change, the government must lead by example by cutting out wastage and making sacrifices that would help Nigeria overcome its economic challenges.

    “The Presidency should come out and say that they are reducing their budget. The National Assembly also needs to do so. That is leading by example.

    “Nigerians are not really averse to the subsidy removal but the government must be ready to demonstrate not just by talking but by doing and by acting.

    “The government must demonstrate that if subsidy must go, this must reflect in our education, it must reflect in our healthcare and also our level of infrastructure.

    “So, the trust deficit that Nigerians have must be addressed before we can make any progress,” Osifo said.

    However, Mr Olumide Adeosun, Chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), called for a phased removal of PMS subsidy to mitigate its impact on ordinary Nigerians.

    Adeosun, who was represented by Mr Clement Isong, Executive Secretary, MOMAN, said the N5 trillion subsidy payment by the government was unsustainable and putting a huge strain on the nation’s forex reserves.

    He said the best option was to fully deregulate the sector and allow market forces to determine the price while also investing the subsidy gains in other critical areas such as mass transportation, healthcare and education.

    Similarly, Dr Gabriel Ogbechie, Group Managing Director, Rainoil Ltd., said the global average price currently for PMS was N516 per litre, which was way higher than the N175 per litre it was being sold in Nigeria.

    Ogbechie said the government should not only deregulate but also initiate a petrol tax to fund maintenance and construction of critical infrastructure across the country.

  • Festus Osifo elected new TUC President

    Festus Osifo elected new TUC President

    Mr. Festus Osifo has been elected as the new President General of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria TUC.

    Osifo was elected as the preferred candidate at the 12th Triennial National Delegates’ Conference of the Congress on Wednesday in Abuja.

    The theme of the 2022 Conference: “The Working Class Amidst the Challenges of National Security, Unemployment and Democratic Development’’.

    Osifo is expected to pilot the affairs of the labour trade centre for the next three years.

    He is also the National President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

    Mr Shehu Mohammed, the returning officer while announcing the results said that a total of 728 delegates participated in the election.

    Mohammed said that Osifo pulled 688 votes to defeat his opponent, Mrs Oyikan Olasanoye who polled 18 votes, while 22 votes were declared invalid.

    According to reports, due to internal disputes Wednesday’s election was held for only the office of the President General.

    It would be also recalled that Osifo assumed office as President of PENGASSAN in August 28, 2020 and had also served amongst others, as PENGASSAN Producers Forum Chairman, between 2016 and 2018.

    The new TUC President is a member of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) and Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

    In his acceptance speech, Osifo vowed to fight for the welfare of the masses as well as the protection of the interest of every Nigerian worker.

    He commanded the past leaders of the Congress for laying “a solid foundation on which the body thrives and vowed to sustain the vision.

    Osifo also promised to carry everyone along in his quest for a greater TUC while also pledging to “initiate a platform to placate all aggrieved comrades.

    Earlier, Mr Quadri Olaleye, former TUC President in a goodbye note commended all members for their support, while calling on the incumbent to ensure peace for the union to move forward.

    According to him, I want to seize this opportunity to remind that election in the trade union movement is not a-do-or-die.

    “There is never a loser, always remember that we are comrades, and that an injury to one is injury to all,” he said.

    Also speaking, Dr Peace Obiajulu, the Pioneer President of the TUC called on members of the Labour centre to ensure that election does not divide the unity of workers.

    She said that organised labour must come together to use their numerical strength to redirect the cause of the working class in Nigeria in particular and by extension the down trodden in the country.

    Some aggrieved affiliates of TUC had earlier written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), to stop the scheduled TUC Delegate Conference from holding.

    The affiliates also further obtained a court order to stop the conference from holding over failure to implement the agreement entered into in the last conference on which affiliate will produce the next president of the labour center.

    The affiliates include the Petroleum and Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASAN), Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), among others.

  • IPMAN seeks quick resolution of FG, PENGASSAN dispute

    IPMAN seeks quick resolution of FG, PENGASSAN dispute

    The Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called for a quick resolution of the dispute between the Federal Government and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).

    IPMAN’s President, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, who made the call in an interview on Thursday in Lagos, said “Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had assured the public that there would be no shortage in fuel supply”.

    He noted that a lingering strike by PENGASSAN could have a negative effect on the nation’s oil and gas industry.

    “They are very important in the value chain of distribution and supply of petroleum products and nobody should underrate their importance.

    “The government should listen to them and find a common ground because a lingering strike by them is not good for the industry,’’ he told NAN.

    Okoronkwo, however, stressed that IPMAN was an association and not a trade union and would continue to render its services to ensure that petroleum products get to the end users.

    PENGASSAN had on Monday embarked on an indefinite strike, following the expiration of an earlier seven-day ultimatum given to the government to agree to its demands.

    The action followed the protracted disagreement between PENGSSAN and the federal government, over the latter’s directive on registration of its members on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

    The union’s President, Mr Felix Osifo, in a statement issued on Wednesday that said their meeting with the government was inconclusive as their demands were yet to be addressed

    Osifo also accused the federal government of not attaching importance to the committee that was set up to look into the matters of unpaid arrears, as government negotiators did not turn up for meetings.

  • Strike: PENGASSAN says meeting with FG inconclusive

    Strike: PENGASSAN says meeting with FG inconclusive

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), on Wednesday said a meeting it held with the Federal Government was inconclusive.

    The union’s President, Mr Felix Osifo, who disclosed this in a statement, said the meeting was inconclusive because the government was yet to address some of PENGASSAN’s demands.

    The Union on Monday embarked on an indefinite strike, following expiration of an earlier seven-day ultimatum given to the government to accede to its demands.

    The action followed the protracted disagreement between PENGSSAN and the Federal Government, over the latter’s directive on registration of its members on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

    “PENGASSAN maintained that Petroleum Training Institute and Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency, must be paid using the harmonised template of 2015.

    “This has already been used by the budget office, appropriated by the National Assembly and signed by President Muhammadu Buhari into law.

    “Also, that a high-powered committee, comprising Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers and PENGASSAN Presidents, should be raised to settle the outstanding issues surrounding the IPPIS platform,” Osifo said in the statement.

    “For the 22 months salary arrears, government agreed to pay 50 per cent and that the balance would be worked out after Federation Accounts Allocation Committee has met.

    “PENGASSAN has agreed, but insisted that there should be a definite date for payment of the balance,’’ he said.

    According to Osifo, the Union however, is expecting to hear from the panel soon.

  • BREAKING: Fuel scarcity looms as PENGASSAN declares nationwide strike

    BREAKING: Fuel scarcity looms as PENGASSAN declares nationwide strike

    President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo has declared the association is embarking on an immediate nationwide strike.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the declaration made by Osifo when he appeared on Sunrise Daily on Channels TV on Monday morning has sparked fears of fuel scarcity in the country.

    “Today, PENGASSAN has declared a strike,” he said in an interview on the Channels Television breakfast programme.

    He added, “Today our members are sitting at home and we will continually watch the situation and if we need to rev it up, we will definitely rev it up.”

    Osifo explained that the industrial action followed the inability of the Federal Government to address the issues raised by the oil and gas workers.

    He stated that the union had given the government a seven-day ultimatum in a statement issued on Monday last week to respond to the issues.

  • Photo: PENGASSAN pickets oil company over sack of 64 workers

    Photo: PENGASSAN pickets oil company over sack of 64 workers

    Oil workers, under the aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), on Tuesday picketed the office of Baker Hughes, a multinational oil company, over sacking of 64 workers.

    The picketing took place at the Mansard House, Victoria Island area of Lagos State.

    Some aggrieved members were seeing chanting solidarity songs, while holding placards of various inscriptions, to drive home their demands.

    Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “We say no to bad labour practices; “BakerHughes stop denying us our rights.”

    Mr Leroy Musa, Industrial Relations Officer, PENGASSAN, Lagos Zone, said that in spite of the pleas and meetings held with the company’s management, it still locked out the employees.

    “The management was with PENGASSAN discussing conditions for separating members which usually is supposed to be a voluntary separation, agreed by law and signed, before implemented.

    “Our members got to the office only to be locked outside the office on the ground that they have been sacked.

    “No pre-notice, no meetings and nothing to prepare the workers’ minds; we are here to say no to the injustice.

    “PENGASSAN is against this, and we will fight against it,” Musa said.

    Also, the Industrial Relations Officer, PENGASSAN, Baker Hughes Branch, Mr Olisa Igwebike, said the company’s management had breached the agreements made earlier by both parties.

    According to him, due process should have been followed before the management locked out the workers.

    “Typically, once negotiation has been done, we now agreed on the numbers of people that will be laid off and decided that we will be having a meeting afterward to complete all other modalities.

    “When the meeting was to take place, the management locked out all the workers including union members; the management has already broken the process chain.

    “It just means that as an entity, PENGASSAN, the management has no respect for authority, laws of the land and flouted the Department of Petroleum Resources and Ministry of Labour rules,” Igwebike said.

    Responding, Mr Olusegun Obagbemi, the Communications Director, Baker Hughes, confirmed the development.