Chairman, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Lagos Zone, Tokunbo Korodo
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has vowed to continue its ongoing unless the Federal Government takes urgent steps to revive the nation’s collapsing oil sector.
According to the oil workers, government must indicate more seriousness on the issues at hand as had shown levity in previous meetings.
However, there are expectations that a meeting between the union and the Federal Government, scheduled for tomorrow, would yield positive results. The association held a
Chairman of PENGASSAN, Lagos branch, Abel Agarin, was quoted as saying that that the association’s struggle is not about salary increment, but the need for government to settle its $7bn cash calls debts.
Agarin lamented that in recent times, non-payment of cash calls has affect development of new projects and forced oil multinationals to divest from their area of investments, and also led to the sack of many members.
The Guardian reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) cash calls debt to multinational and indigenous oil firms under the Joint Venture (JV) agreement has reached about $7bn.
Cash calls is the counterpart funding the NNPC pays yearly for the 60 per cent equity shareholding it owns in various oil and gas fields operated by International Oil Companies (IOCs) and indigenous oil firms (Independents).
Agarin said, “As far as we are concerned, there is no talk ongoing. I don’t know why the Federal Government said they are talking with us. We only have a proposed meeting for Monday. So, the strike is still very much ongoing.
“We are not talking about salaries. All we are saying is that the Federal Government should live up to its responsibilities on the cash calls. The increasing debt on the cash calls is our problem, because this funding has not been forthcoming for the past five to six years running.
“The non-payment of the cash calls is affecting the industry seriously, to the extent that our members are loosing jobs. The IOCs and the service sector are not undertaking new investments. No investment in new projects, as we speak, and the existing ones are being divested. So, our people are loosing jobs. As at today, Transocean is no longer in this country. Saipem has moved out because there is nothing going on.”
Agarin also bemoaned the delay in passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). “This is supposed to aid the industry, but it has been laid to rest; nobody is talking about it. We are not clamouring for salary increase. There has been no increment of salary in the oil sector in the last three years. We are just there, and even now companies are making moves to reduce our salaries. Where is that done? The economy is not friendly.
