The House of Representatives Committee on Downstream Petroleum Resources has disagreed with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over its ongoing industrial action and order to some of its branches to cut off gas and crude oil supply to Dangote Refinery without notice and without exhausting the laid-down procedures specified in the relevant trade union acts. It called on the protesting union to lift the order and allow dialogue to lead the way.
The Downstream Committee on Petroleum Resources, saddled with legislative oversight on the downstream petroleum sector, lamented the likely economic damage that could hurt ongoing efforts to attract investors and build a working downstream sector that will be beneficial to the workers, the Nigerian people, energy security, and a commercially viable competitive downstream sector.
It urged PENGASSAN to suspend the order for the shutdown of gas and crude oil supply to Dangote Refinery and participate in the committee’s proposed “roundtable meeting between NMDPRA, the Downstream Committee, Dangote Refinery, and the Labour Ministry to find a lasting solution.”
According to the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, during a press briefing in Lagos, the industrial crisis, which among others led to the order to cut supply to the indigenous refining company, Dangote, will destabilise downstream stability and scare investors away from the country, as the directive was made in haste without all necessary avenues for addressing grievances being exhausted.
This decision, he said, will scare away foreign investors who will be worried that due process does not count in addressing grievances in the sector. Hence, there is a need for the union to return to the table for direct talks to be presided over by the Downstream Committee, with regulators, the Labour Ministry, and Dangote Refinery in attendance, to find a sustainable solution to the challenges.
While speaking at the press conference in Lagos over the weekend, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere called on PENGASSAN to end the ongoing action, restore supply to Dangote, and allow lawmakers to intervene in the matter in the interest of the nation.
He said the committee has reached out to stakeholders for a downstream stability roundtable in order to enable the parties, including the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), PENGASSAN, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and lawmakers, to resolve the issues that led to the shutdown order.
The Chairman announced that the committee has also appointed Hon. Akin Rotimi as Sub-Committee Chairman, with Midala Usman, Billy Osawaru, and Mathew Nwaogu as members, to harmonise positions on the contending issues surrounding the disputes in the downstream sector as it relates to the issue of workers’ right to join or not to join a union.
He said the committee has 14 days to round up the assignment and called on all the contending parties, especially NUPENG, PENGASSAN, and Dangote Refinery, to submit detailed information on all the issues to enable the committee to come up with an informed way forward that can help to resolve the disputes.
Ugochinyere reiterated the call on the aggrieved oil and gas workers to end the industrial action and embrace methods of resolving labour union crises such as negotiation, dialogue, and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), as recognised by labour laws everywhere.
“While this committee acknowledges the concerns of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), it does not approve of the action embarked upon by the union with their decision to order the stoppage of gas supply to Dangote Refinery without notice.
This action is hasty and has multiplier effects on the energy needs of Nigerians, as well as likely damage to a delicate private sector investment and destabilisation of the search for sustainable peace being championed by the committee. Hence, the need for the immediate call-off of the shutdown directive.”
