TheCable

The ongoing strike involving workers of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has worsened, as other units of the company have joined the ongoing labour dispute.

A statement released by the media and information officer of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Babatunde Oke said all subsidiaries of the oil company had joined the ongoing strike, which the union says could affect the export of Nigeria, Africa’s top oil exporter.

“This could affect export of the crude, as workers at the export terminals also joined the strike, while importation and distribution of petroleum products may also be affected as the NNPC accounts for 60 per cent of petroleum importation into the country,” he said.

The NNPC subsidiaries that recently joined the strike include: the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Kaduna Refining and Petro-chemical Company (KRPC), Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), Nigeria Gas Company (NGC), Hyson, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL) and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

Oke said the union will not relent on the strike until their demands are met and the NNPC management finds a lasting solution to the ongoing problem.

The strike, which began in the early hours of Tuesday, ensued over in-house pension management system.

Other demands are adequate and regular funding of the closed pension system, immediate steps to carry out Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) on the four refineries as agreed between government and the two unions (NUPENG and PENGASSAN), and restoration of crude supply to the refineries.

Commenting on the issue, Oke said the problem has gone beyond granting a one-year grace to the NNPC by PENCOM.

“We [he unions] want NNPC management to put in place machinery that will automatically fund the pension system without any bureaucratic bottle neck,” he said.

He recalled that the government had promised to commence the turnaround maintenance on existing refineries in April.

“But this is September, we have not seen any commitment from the government on this,” he said.

The unions want the federal government to implement, without delay, the memorandum of understanding they had on executing the TAM on the refineries.

On Wednesday, the federal house of representatives summoned minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke; group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), Dr. Joseph Dawa, and leadership of the oil workers’ unions to resolve the ongoing strike.

The meeting is scheduled to hold at 11:00 a.m today.

Meanwhile, the West African Gas Company (WAPCo), which supplies gas from Nigeria to Ghana, said it is uncertain when gas supply would be restored.

When gas supply is halted, it takes two days for the residue carried in Ghana’s pipelines to be completely exhausted. The residue has run out.