The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NUPENG

  • PENGASSAN, NUPENG to protest refineries’sale

    PENGASSAN, NUPENG to protest refineries’sale

    Any attempt by the Federal Government to revisit the privatisation of refineries in the future would be resisted by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), PENGASSAN’s spokesman, Oluwaseyi Gambo has said.

    He told The Nation that the two unions were not unaware of the undercover moves by the government to re-open the issue of selling Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt 1&2 refineries in the future, and we were ready to resist such ideas.

    He said the two unions have agreed to engage the government in ideological battle, in case it revisits the issue in the near future, adding that the bodies would organise a roundtable discussion, as well as set conditions for the government on the issue.

    He called for the evaluation of the assets of the refineries by an independent organisation and listing of the refineries’ assets on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), making Nigerians eligible to buy shares in the refineries. These are the conditions the two bodies are planning to set before the government, in the event that such idea comes up again, he said.

    Others are ensuring that the government, the core investors and the two unions supervise the pre and post privatisation process, as well as guaranteeing the jobs of workers of the two unions.

    ‘’ The two unions: NUPENG and PENGASSAN that are operating in these refineries on behalf of Nigerians must be on the committee that would decide on the privatisation model to be used, should the issue come up in the future. We would ensure that Nigerians have greater participation in the operation of these national assets by way of public quotation on the Stock Exchange.

    ‘’ We would jointly evaluate the worth of the assets so that Nigerians would not be short-changed as there are valid reasons that the refineries would be sold in the future to government’ cronies. We would like to know the nature of the core investors, their capacity to turn around the refineries in case the idea is re-appears on the radar of the government.’’

    He said the sale of Eleme Petrochemical Limited was shrouded in secrecy, adding that the two unions do not want that to happen to the refineries in the event that the government offers them for sale in the future.

    Security of workers, he said, must be ensured to encourage economic growth.

    ‘’We have to agree on the welfare of our members who have been on the front-line risking their lives in the hydro-carbon environment for years,’’ he added.

  • BPE, labour to begin dialogue on sale of refineries

    BPE, labour to begin dialogue on sale of refineries

    The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Benjamin Dikki, said yesterday that the establishment would enter into a dialogue with the leaders of the oil workers, for the beginning of the privatisation of the four refineries.

    He said the leaders of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) are not opposed to the sale of the refineries, but expressed their willingness to enter into a dialogue with the government to develop business models for the refineries.

    “This will be followed up and should lead to the commencement of the privatisation this year,” Dikki said.

    He noted that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has approved the appointment of a liquidator for the guided liquidation of Nitel and Mtel.

    Dikki, who spoke to reporters in Abuja, said: “In the same year under review, NCP equally approved the appointment of a liquidator for the guided liquidation of NITEL/MTEL, pending a court confirmation. This process is continuing this year and is also reflected in the work plan.”

    The Director-General disclosed plans to commercialise the operations of public media organisations, such as the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    He said BPE reported to the council that the court process for the appointment of a liquidator for Nitel/M-tel was concluded last Friday when a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted a petition for the winding-up of NITEL/M-TEL through a ‘guided liquidation’ process and the appointment of Otunba Olutola O. Senbore as the liquidator.

    Dikki said: “The transactions approved for the department include, to execute the guided liquidation of Nitel/Mtel and to review the policy, legal and regulatory framework, which will prepare ground for the commercialisation of the media enterprises: NTA, FRCN, National Film Corporation and NAN.”

    He went on: “We reported to council that a concept paper for the reform of the media enterprises has been sent to the Minister of Information and his inputs are being awaited.

    “The objective is to review the policy, legal and regulatory framework, which will enable the enterprises to operate as commercial outfits, while still being owned by the government.”

    The BPE boss said there is a target of N535.3 billion from definite transactions and N211.3billion proceeds from prospective transaction this year.

    “In the 2014 work plan, the Bureau has proposed to handle 23 definite transactions and 29 prospective transactions. Consequently, we envisage gross proceeds of N535.3 billion from the definite transactions. We hope to realise about N211.3 billion from prospective transactions when they are executed,” he added.

    The BPE, according to him, would review and follow up eight reform bills before the Federal Executive Council for approval.

    Dikki said the eight bills are: Railway Bill; Inland Waterways Bill; Federal Roads Authority Bill; National Roads Fund Bill; National Transport Commission Bill; Ports & Harbour Reform Bill; Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill; and Postal Reform Bill.

    He said the passage of the bills would lead to the abrogation of monopoly sector laws, liberalisation of the sector and setting up of regulatory agencies.

    The Director-General added: “In pursuit of the President Goodluck Jonathan Transformation Agenda, these Bills seek to create an enabling environment for private sector investments in these sectors of the economy.

    “The expected outcomes are inflows of private sector investments, job creation and economic growth. Once the Bills are enacted by the National Assembly, the regulatory agencies would then be set up.”

  • Rep warns against sudden removal of petrol subsidy

    Rep warns against sudden removal of petrol subsidy

    A member of the House of Representatives, Peter Apkatason (APC, Edo State) has warned the Federal Government against the sudden removal of petrol subsidy.

    Apkatason, who was President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG),spoke with reporters in Abuja.

    He said though it is desirable to stop the pilfering of trillion of Naira by government officials through the subsidy regime, a sudden removal of the subsidy should be the last option.

    Akpatason said: “We must have a master-plan for addressing the issue of subsidy, this ad hoc pronouncements cannot help the situation either.

    “ You cannot wake up one day and say we’re stopping subsidy. Try it and see what happens. It is not a threat, but from my experience, I know that if you just wake up one day and remove subsidy, there will be serious trouble.

    “There should be a planned programme that would ensure that removal of subsidy would not create more problems than the solution anticipated.”

    The lawmaker, who said subsidy is wrong from the economic point of view, added that though there is a need to stop the subsidy, it must be done in a way that would not put economic and political pressure on the government and cause additional problems for the masses.

    He said: “Now you’re talking about the removal of subsidy, AGO ( diesel) has been deregulated, but has the situation changed? In some places in the country, it sells for N150 per litre even when marketers are importing massively.

    “If you just jump to remove it, the economic pressure that will follow, the political consequences and the rest of them would be enormous.

    He described subsidy as “ a reflection of the failure in our system,” adding that “we must address those failures.”

    “ from the economic point of view, I think it is wrong. We at some point must talk about stopping subsidy. We can’t continue with subsidy forever.

    “We have been talking about subsidy removal and the need to remove subsidy for many years and each time those discussions come up people come up ideas of what to do in the immediate to ensure that the situation that gave rise to the subsidy itself is addressed, but unfortunately, that is not being done.

    “So if we’re talking about the desirability or sustainability of subsidy, we must go back to 2006, look at what happened in 2006 and 2011 and look at the jump in 2011 and the factors responsible for that.”

     

    “We have to address these factors responsible. The volumes we are quoting are we consuming these volumes? What was the population of Nigeria in 2010 and then compare it to 2011 and 2012. What has changed? What accounts for the astronomic rise in the amount spent on subsidy in 2009 compared to 2011?”

     

    He said it is warped reasoning to think that deregulating the supply of Petrol without addressing local refining capacity would bring total solution

     

    According to him, deregulating Petrol without addressing the issue of demurrage and insufficiency of receptive facility is a pipe dream,

     

    “If you import and queue for two weeks to get access to a jetty, the whole of that will be factored into the price at the end of the day. For instance, demurrage is paid on every ship that comes into this country. Demurrage is a waste. Its avoidable if the system is efficient and the Organizations are properly managed.

     

    He said Inspection agencies, regulatory agencies and marketers as well the high cost of freight and insurance, particularly to Nigeria, also add to the challenges of bringing products into the market.

     

    Akpatason said most of the problems of corruption associated with the subsidy regime which began with the creation of the Petroleum Support Fund in 2006 “will not occur if we refine locally.”

     

    END

     

     

     

     

     

  • APC accuses Fed Govt of secret moves to hike fuel price

    APC accuses Fed Govt of secret moves to hike fuel price

    •Fed Govt insincere with fuel scarcity, says NUPENG

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government of acting out a clandestine script to increase fuel prices.

    It said the nation-wide fuel scarcity may have been induced to make higher fuel prices a fait accompli for Nigerians.

    In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that the scarcity has persisted despite the claims and counter-claims by the government and the oil markers, and the measures purportedly taken by the government to ameliorate the situation, is the clearest indication of official deception.

    “The more fuel trucks the government claims to have sent to major cities to ease the scarcity, the more difficult it is for Nigerians to obtain the product. This is an old trick and Nigerians should not be hoodwinked into believing there will be no increase in fuel prices.

    The only deterrent is to let the government know Nigerians will resist any price hike.

    “The truth is that with the elections approaching, the PDP-led Federal Government is desperately seeking all possible avenues to raise funds for its usual electoral shenanigans, and increasing fuel prices has always been an attractive option to the government, not minding what the impact will be on the same people it has impoverished since 1999,’’ it said.

    APC said the lingering scarcity has already forced many Nigerians to pay as much as 120 Naira per litre of fuel, which is exactly as the FG wants it to be.

    “The next refrain from the government will be that only higher prices will guarantee the availability of the product, and that many marketers are unwilling to import the product because of low profit margin. We urge Nigerians not to swallow this bait,’’ the party said.

    It commended the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for its timely warning against any plan to hike fuel prices, saying the Jonathan Administration’s assurances that fuel prices would not be increased are not worth anything because the government is credibility-deficient.

    “The big deception of 2012, when the government slammed a massive price hike on Nigerians on New Year’s day despite assurances to the contrary, is still too fresh in the memories of Nigerians. The same people who inflicted that pain on Nigerians are still in charge, so no one should trust them,” APC warned.

    The Deputy National Chairman of the Petrol Tankers Drivers (PTD) Branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), NNPC, Apata, Ibadan, Comrade Salimon Oladiti, has accused the Federal Government of insincerity on the reason for the fuel scarcity.

    Oladiti said it was a method by the government to increase fuel pump prices.

    The NUPENG spoke yesterday at the Oyo State House of Assembly complex, Secretariat, Ibadan.

    “We in the Labour have been trying our possible best to mount pressure on the Federal Government. Now if you want to buy petrol in Lagos now from private depot, it is N100, whereas they are just sending little quantity to NNPC depot. That is why we are experiencing all this things. What the Minister of Petroleum said about marketers diverting of fuel was a total lie.

    ”How many times will they continue to say that we are the cause of this crisis? When the product is available, did you experience or hear from them that somebody is diverting the fuel, or that somebody is going on leave and all that? All her excuses are nonsense. If someone is not productive, then the President of the day should replace him with somebody that is ready to do the job, rather than playing politics with issues every time.”

    He urged all Nigerians to mount pressure on the Federal Government to give a reasonable explanation on the fuel scarcity.

  • NUPENG seeks clarification on private depots

    Urgent clarification of the status of private petroleum depots’owners would help in averting crisis in the industry, the General Secretary, Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Issac Aberabe has said.

    Speaking at the Third Independent Marketers Branch (IMB) Lagos Zonal Council Quadrennial Delegates Conference in Lagos, Aberabe said the status of private depots has become a major concern in the sub-sector, adding that efforts to resolve the issue would encourage growth.

    Represented by the Senior Assistant General Secretary, NUPENG, Adamson Momoh, he said private depots’owners were disqualified from attending the conference because of internal squabbles.

    He urged members to facilitate discussions on how to solve the problems before it is too late.

    He said: ”The Branch Executive Council(BEC) of NUPENG should consult widely and resolve the status of the private depots before it becomes a source of disunity, antagonism, bikering and demotivation in the Branch.’’

    He said audit committee has discovered discrepancies in the collection and remittance of union dues and levies among braches in the informal sector.

    The branch, he said, should dialogue with the leadership of the union to ensure that all outstanding dues and trip levies are remitted by the National Secretariat without further delay.

    He said the guidelines issued for conduct of election of zonal delegates has generated controversy, advising members to resolve the issue through dialogue.

    Also, the Zonal Chairman, IMB, Wahab said dialogue is needed to resolve industrial conflict.

    ‘’Labour agencies must use dialogue to resolve issues. Dialogue when use effectively helps to reduce tension, blackmail, and gossips in work place,’’ he added.

    The Zonal Trustee, IMB, Kofoworola Oladehinde, urged members to resolve problems affecting the union, arguing that failure to settle their differences would hinder growth.

  • Oil workers urged to embrace dialogue

    Oil workers urged to embrace dialogue

    President, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Southwest Zone, Mr. Olumide Ogunmade, has urged oil workers’ groups to embrace dialogue in addressing the problems in the industry.

    The oil workers’ groups are Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).

    Ogunmade, who spoke against the backdrop of plans by some interest groups to embark on industrial action and force the government to change its position on issues threatening the growth of the power and petroleum sectors, said dialogue has become a global tool for settling disputes.

    He said once the parties involved in the struggle know what and why they are fighting, they would be able to enter into dialogue and resolve their differences.

    He said understanding the reasons behind struggle and promotions of unity among the relevant parties are factors needed to achieve the desired results.

    He said: ‘’Once the parties know what and why they are fighting a cause, they would be able to reach a compromise on how to go about. Members of IPMAN branch of NUPENG should try and reach a negotiation on issues fundamental to the industry.”

     

    Employment of dialogue is another weapon required to fight for the welfare of their members. When this happens, there would not be acrimony among members and peace would reign.”

    He urged members to conceive progressive ideas to win their struggles, and take the petroleum industry to a greater height.

    “What win struggles are progressive ideas laced with the right thinking and actions. Members of IPMAN should come out with ideas that are purposeful, and provable to win a cause. This would help members to achieve their goals.’’ he added.

  • Refineries: PENGASSAN, NUPENG shelve proposed strike

    Refineries: PENGASSAN, NUPENG shelve proposed strike

    The Labour unions in the oil and gas sector have shelved the proposed strike action against government’s plans to sell the nation’s refineries.

    A statement issued by PENGASSAN’s Public Relations Officer,  Seyi Gambo,  explained that the decision to put on hold the strike action was taken after a meeting between the NUPENG, PENGASSAN, Minister of Labour and Productivity and the Petroleum minister.

    According to Gambo, the meeting between the two national unions in the oil and gas sector under the auspices of NUPENGASSAN started at few minutes past 2pm and ended about 8.45pm on Tuesday.

    The meeting took place at the Ministry of Labour in Abuja.

    “The meeting had in attendance the  Minister of Labour and Productivity,  his counterpart in Petroleum Resources and  ministry aides, while the union was lead by the chairman, NUPENGASSA, president of NUPENG, Comrade Igwe Achase,” the statement reads.

    At the end of the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was drawn and read by the Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu.

    In the MoU, the parties agreed that Federal government would not sell the refineries. They also resolved that  Turn Around Maintenance should be done on the refineries, starting with the two in Port Harcourt.

     

  • NUPENG to protest unfair practices

    NUPENG to protest unfair practices

    THE Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has threatened to protest alleged unfair practices by employers in the oil and gas industry.

    Its President, Comrade Igwe Achese, spoke at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of NUPENG, which held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    He said: “The nation-wide rally is to protest, particularly, casualisation of workers and resistance to unionisation of the workforce by recalcitrant management who have continued to outsource virtually all cadres of job in the oil and gas industry.

    “We shall be demonstrating in all the state capitals to let Nigerians know the unbecoming attitude of some employers to job insecurity in the country.”

    Achese, who said Chevron and ExxonMobil, are the worst promoters of unfair labour practices in the industry, lamented that despite appeals the oil giant had continued to sack workers in its employment.

    He said the union had made entreaties to Chevron management and written protest letters to vital arms of the government to prevail on the company to stop its unfriendly labour practices, yet it did not listen.

    “For fear of the unknown, some workers are signing letters banning them from joining the unions, which violate their rights of association as enshrined in the country’s constitution. We have said there will industrial action against Chevron if the trend persists,” he said.

  • Refineries: PENGASSAN, NUPENG threaten strike

    Refineries: PENGASSAN, NUPENG threaten strike

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), yesterday said it will call its members out on a strike should the government decide to proceed with its plan to privatise the refineries.

    PENGASSAN President Babatunde Ogun said the association will commence the strike in January.

    He said sister union National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) will join in the strike.

    Ogun told members of the the association at the headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in Abuja, that the planned privatisation is an attempt to hand over the nation’s refineries to cronies of the Federal Government.

    He said that an indefinite strike will be declared in the first week of January 2014, to press home their demand on the Federal Government not to sell the nation’s refineries in the name of privatization.

    “If between now and 24th of this month (December), government does not retract that every statement that has been made has been put on hold while further engagement is made, and everything we have to do is hinged on PIB (Petroleum Industry Bill) by first week of January, be rest assured that PENGASSAN and NUPENG will go on indefinite strike.

    “You cannot sell something without a model, without Nigerians knowing exactly what you are doing…the nature in which they do business in the oil and gas industry is fraught with secrecy. There must be a retraction first and it’s what they will make public, so Nigerians will know that it is on hold,” he said.

  • Oil workers slam NCDMB over exclusion from confab

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has expressed its disappointment to the National Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for excluding NUPENG and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) from its just-concluded stakeholders’ conference.

    In a statement signed by its President, Igwe Achese, NUPENG said though it championed the battle to make the Local Content Bill a reality, it is being excluded from discussions that affect the sector.

    The union said the board’s deliberate act to exclude the two unions is to prevent them from opening up on the weaknesses and lapses noticeable in the implementation of the mandate of the board.

    Achese said: “It is sad to note that the ideals and purpose of setting up the board have not been realised.

    “It is shameful that the level of success expected of the board has not been met.The board has failed to call indigenous firms who are benefitting from the Local Content Act to stop enslaving their workers who are Nigerians as casuals.”

    According to him, the board has failed to monitor the indigenous firms that are owing their workers’salaries and allowances, adding that it has also failed to fish out indigenous firms operating in the sector fronting for foreign firms, making the Act itself a nullity.

    “These foreign firms invest in fabrication and other local content tools used in the oil and gas industry, using Nigerians as fronts.  This negates the principle behind the Local Content Act and these firms have many expatriate workers doing jobs that qualified Nigerians can do.

    “NUPENG, therefore, believes that the non-inclusion of NUPENGASSAN in the stakeholders’ summit is an attempt to gag their submissions on happenings in the affairs of the board as it is not yet equal to the task and compromising on issues based on regulation in the industry.

    ‘’NUPENG calls for another summit to include the union and PENGASSAN for the truth to be told in order to move the work of the board forward,” Achese said.