Fuel crisis / refinery
The national leadership of PENGASSAN has been following up with our members in NNPC Trading Limited who are responsible for assigning the products to marketers and our teaming members from NMDPRA in various depots and terminals across the country that are responsible for issuing cargo clearance, tracking compliance, route inspection, metering calibration / maintenance, accurate delivery to trucks, record keeping, etc. on the need to carry out their functions expeditiously.
We have called on the management of NMDPRA to compel all marketers and retailers to make the products available at approved prices. They should immediately mobilize all their staff in various locations across the country to track compliance, and anyone found wanting, should have their license immediately revoked. We will keep close tab on this.
Our association re-states the commitments to continue its advocacy on the need to fix the Nation’s refineries and with the inclusion of PENGASSAN in the Steering Committee as set up by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), it shall continue the agitation for the rehabilitation of the four Refineries through engagement with other relevant stakeholders.
Functional local refineries will not only increase the nation’s revenue base, they will also provide more job opportunities for our youths as well as end the uncertainties in subsidy regimes and product importation. While maintaining our support for the full deregulation of the sector and acknowledging the significant milestones achieved in this regard, we counsel that efforts be made to increase the pace of the current refineries rehabilitation and get them back on stream in no time
Collective Bargaining Agreement
The staff under PENGASSAN employment is currently been negotiated with the representative of the staff council. This will further lead to improvement on the already good condition of service that members enjoy today.
I am glad to report that the protracted discussion and negotiation between the Association, NNPC management and Addax management on the end of contract and benefit for Addax in house and Addax Contract branches has ended in praise.
All our members in both branches have been paid their entitlement. All our members in Addax in Contract branch and most of our members in the In-House branch have been reengaged.
Unionisation
Aggressive efforts have been made in unionizing more branches and increasing our rank. To this end, several new branches have been registered since the last NEC meeting and all these will be reported in the National Delegate Conference coming up in May 2023.
Anti-labour management
We have observed with total dismay the blatant refusal of some capitalists in the sector to allow workers who have indicated interest to join the association do so. The companies identified as notorious in this anti-worker posture and modern-day slavery
from our investigations include; Bridgesite Nigeria Limited, Ofadri Nigeria limited , Enasco Energy, Belema Oil producing limited , Dalik Engineering limited, and Saplat Petroleum Development Company.
I can assure you that we will intensify effort and use all the arsenal within our rights to make them to do the needful as it is within our right to do so.
2023 general elections
The 2023 general election has been concluded with winners announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). A lot of irregularities and violence marked this exercise in different parts of the country. This was ascertained by several credible and local observers. The major flaw was the use of BVAS in uploading results into IRev.
Nigerians hailed the introduction of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) and the Result Viewing Portal (IReV) as the game changer! Despite all the sacrifices made by ordinary Nigerians to go out and wait in long queues to obtain their PVCs, strenuously cast their votes and the billions of taxpayers’ money budgeted for the conduct of this election, INEC failed in meeting the expectations of Nigerians.
Refusal of INEC to upload results
This failure on the part of INEC to upload results from polling units to IReV portal, climaxed an election that was challenged by late arrival of INEC personnel and materials in some areas, by-pass of BVAS in some cases, suppression of results and outright voters’ intimidation and coercion in many instances.
Despite the shortcomings, we hereby appeal to all those aggrieved by the election outcome to follow the provision of the law in seeking redress. The various tribunals must be charged to deliver justice to the satisfaction of all well-meaning Nigerians as they are the last hope of the teeming masses of the country.
Standard of living
The standard of living of most of our citizens has been a case of ‘hand to mouth.’ Poverty and crime are rampant on the back of unemployment of more than 60 percent of those that are able and willing to work. Despite promises by successive governments, the country remains in darkness due to a lack of power thereby stifling the growth and investment that are so badly needed to create jobs and lift people out of poverty.
Recall that Nigeria started its journey of independence about the same time as countries like Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore, to name a few. All these countries have long overtaken us despite our oil wealth and joined the league of industrialized countries. The high cost of living and other economic issues have combined to worsen the current situation, leading to an increase in the country’s poverty index. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 133 million Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor out of over 200 million citizens.
This is against the fact that the country is endowed with human and natural resources. The failure of the previous and the current leaders to manage the resources of the state has resulted in the failure in governance.
Sample cases like that of the of ex- Accountant-General of the Federation, who allegedly misappropriated N109bn, with the EFCC said to have recovered only a paltry some of N30bn and that of a former EFCC head, who was arrested and later sacked over mishandling recovered loot and selling seized assets, have been swept under the carpet. So also, are other cases whose investigations have been concluded, ongoing or stalled? All these have made the corruption war a lip service.
Tasks for incoming government
It is our expectation that the incoming government will urgently carry out due diligence, appraisals of the operational apparatus of the EFCC, ICPC and other agencies charged with responsibilities of fighting corruption with a view to making them more effective.
Currency Swap Controversies
While the recent currency redesigning may be well-intentioned, especially against vote- buying at the just-concluded general elections. Planners and handlers miscalculated the overarching effect on the masses, and ran afoul of the common good of the masses of the country. The unnecessary anguish, compounded misery, frustration, protests, arson, and general instigation of anarchy should have been avoided where all key actors – the presidency, the Central Bank, commercial banks and other financial institutions were more discretionary. Nigerians have been betrayed by the banking system which has been unable to pay them their money on demand.
They have also been failed by the Federal Government which unilaterally decided to change the three highest denominations of the currency, fixed dates for the change, and is utterly incapable either to deliver on its promises or protect the populace from financial strangulation. We sympathize with Nigerians for the avoidable pain.
@ Blueprint
