Victor Ahiuma-Young & Kelechi Azubuike

In recent times, the two unions in the Petroleum sector; Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG and its Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, besides the protracted Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, that have remained unattended to by the National Assembly, have been battling government and private sector employers in the industry over victimization of union leaders, amongst others.

Few days ago, leaders of the two unions at a joint meeting in Abuja, met to review some of these issues and the way forward.

In an interview with Sweet Crude, President of NUPENG, Igwe Achese, speaks on these issues and the next line of action for the unions.

Excerpts :

Few days ago, the two unions in the Oil and Gas Sector on the platform of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, met to review issues of concern. What were the issues discussed especially on the victimization of your members?

We are happy to say that a lot of consultations are going on with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and others. We have had about two meetings with the ministry. However they claimed that some of the issues raised are beyond their office and that they would do further consultations with other parastatals that are involved in the issues.

We have been able to say look, the issue of Total Oil zonal secretary of PENGASSAN, we have agreed that she should be given a leave of absence and her job security to be guaranteed. We have also agreed that on issue of the Deputy President of NUPENG Asuquo Okon, his transfer to Port Harcourt is also considered, but that management will also give him all the necessary support and assistance required to enable him run his union administration whenever he is required to move to any location that has been agreed by AGIP management and has also assured us of job security.

The reason why we went into that consideration for his own case is, because he is a contract staff and you know the system we found ourselves in the industry, by tomorrow his contract may come to an end and the company will tell you that the contract is no more existing. So, to create that job security for him, whether the contract ends or not, he is also being guaranteed and assured of job security.

On the issue of Mobil, which we are making a progressing discussion, we had a recent meeting, where Mobil management was compelled again to go back and reinstate the National Treasurer of the Port Harcourt zonal council.

Because the truth of the matter is that, yes his contract has come to an end, but the job still exists. So, if that is the case, there is no way you can say because the contract of his company has been terminated, and then he should go. Since the job he is doing still exists, you need to migrate him into a new company.

But in that direction also we have started a strike which we do not want to make noise about because if we make noise about that action, Nigerians will begin to say, NUPENG wants to create more problems, when we are facing serious series of political crises and economic challenges in the country.

People would say, we are going to compound those issues for Nigerians. But for now we have already placed embargo on fuel supply to Akwa Ibom State and that is ongoing now in driving those issues.

We believe that the government of Akwa Ibom has a responsibility as well to her own citizen to protect and secure their jobs and for those who are working at those jobs; the government has the responsibility to them.

We have also taken the issue to the government, to say look you must go ahead and see what you can do. From the Akwa Ibom State government we have some series of issues with them that they have not been able to show that goodwill to help their citizens.

That brings us to a situation where we see praise singers and hangers on, showering praises encomium on the governor on what he is perceived to be doing or performing. He is not doing those things.

We are talking about job security and generating the revenue that can allow you to do the maintenance of these facilities and infrastructures you put on place. It is the task payers’ money that you must use to do this maintenance.

If these workers who are supposed to work are not secured where will the money come from? Today, we are talking about the oil price drop and if care is not taken it will drop further because we saw it coming when this Shell oil discovery came into up, America is one of the huge, big importers of crude oil you know and here they found and are now processing by Shell.

What will you say about the protracted Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB?

In our memorandum of Understanding, MOU, which we signed and distributed to various agencies including the security agencies, we have asked, are members of this present National Assembly committed to the passage of the PIB?

The tenure of this National Assembly is coming to an end and every member has begun to talk about returning to the Assembly for another term instead of talking about passage of bills and so on. Right now, as we speak you are aware that the senate is in comatose because of situation where Peoples Democratic Party members want automatic ticket.

The situation we are is that many of them will be saying, if we are not given automatic ticket, what are coming to pass a bill for? The crisis on as such, nobody is talking about the PIB for now.

The National Assembly joint committee on the PIB is still having some discrepancies in terms of subtractions and additions here and there. These are the challenges we are facing in terms of those areas and we feel it is necessary and mandatory to address them.

Be that as it may, we have said that we are not going to give further notice of a nationwide strike.

I know that there panic and apprehension everywhere whether NUPENG and PENGASSAN are going to shut down or withdraw their services. I do not want to use the word not even shut down, but withdrawal of services from the sector.

Now again, the current oil price drop is also a threat, not just to the Nigerian economy per say, but to Nigerian workers as a whole. Whether you like it or not, what sustains the working environment of Nigeria today is the oil and gas.

If everybody is affected and for example, the farmer will say without oil we cannot even move our farm produce out of the rural area to the urban area, without oil we cannot do this, we cannot go to the office to do our job, without oil there will be no light in the system to begin to talk about manufacturing of goods and services.

These are the key issues facing us. When we hear the chairman or the coordinator Minister for the Nigerian economy, who is also the minister of finance, talk about austerity measure. It is surprising and an astonishing and we feel she is undermining Nigeria and Nigerians as a whole.

It is so painful for the coordinator of the economy to come out and say Nigeria should be ready for austerity measure, what comes to our mind is that this is wickedness of the highest order. Our budget is pegged at N78 of the crude oil price, we have continued to ask if we are in a failed state and if we are not in a failed state, what is the National Assembly doing?

What is their role under checks and balances; must there be continuous high level of corruption and insensitivity to Nigerians and Nigeria as a whole? It is so painful and that brings me to the burdens of the challenges of insurgency.

It is painful, oil price was at N105, N110, it even rose up to N110, N108, before it came down to 105 again and so on.

So where is the money from the crude oil sales? In a period of such huge challenge and we know full well that our various budgets, state budget and everything was pegged on N78 and we are coming to shout ole, ole, ole (thieves) when we are the thieves.

They must tell Nigerians what happened to the excess money that came out of the sales of crude oil, let them account for it and they owe Nigerians that responsibility.

The minister has also said that PIB will not be touched as you rightly stated until after the election. What do you make out of it as a union?

That is what I am saying. Notwithstanding, the various actions we have taken in our joint council meetings, we are going to meet again at the leadership level now, to now know the next line of action.

We do not want anybody to pre-empt us that is why we have been so solo to say let us now sit back and begin to watch and see the various options to take. So, we do not want anybody to pre-empt our action again.

The only thing Nigerians will see because we have said we are no longer going to give notices again is the strike. May God help us.