September 29, (THEWILL) — The Federal Government’s move to broker peace between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, and the management of Dangote Refinery is not only commendable but also a stitch in time.
By summoning both parties to a meeting for reconciliation, the government has shown concern for the welfare of the masses who are, as always, bound to be at the receiving end of PENGASSAN’s planned nationwide strike. Just as the strike is expected to profoundly hurt the country’s fragile economy in ways that can only be imagined, the innocent masses are also expected to suffer the consequences.
Of course, there have been mixed reactions to the emerging conflict between the oil Workers’ union and Africa’s largest Refinery.
The coming of the private refinery appears to have distrupted the oil sector in a way that has caused grave concern to some stakeholders, namely Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) wish have engaged in one form of face-off or another with the Dangote Refinery. Only recently NUPENG had a running battle with the refinery.
Shortly after, PENGASSAN opened another dispute with the refinery. Despite intervention by the Federal Government, the raging issues of alleged anti-labour practices of the refinery has persisted.
In a fresh attempt to resolve the the issues and restore confidence in the sector, the Federal Government’s two-pronged approach is commendable.
On the one hand the Steering Committee of the Domestic Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency, shared by the Minister of Finance and the Cordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, met on Sunday and express Federal Government commitment to energy security, protect consumers, and maintain stability in the domestic petroleum products market, he also assured Nigerians that all outstanding issues, particularly the dispute between PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery are being addressed with urgency and in good faith.
Also, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi,has summoned the warring parties to a meeting in his office in Abuja today. Both the Edun led committee and the minister’s intervention should explore all options available to resolve this matter and lay it to rest for the benefit of Nigerians, the oil sector and the Dangote refinery.
We believe that the Federal Government has done the right thing in the present circumstances by intervening in the matter. We can only hope that PENGASSAN and Dangote Refinery will see reason for an amicable settlement of their grievances. Nigerians are tired of the intermittent crises in the oil and gas sector that often end up without positive results.
