PENGASSAN urges Buhari to stop political meddling in NNPC

raises concern over silence on PIB

Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) says the ongoing effort by President Muhammadu Buhari to restructure the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will make greater impact if political interference in the affairs of the corporation is halted by the Presidency.

The NPPC, which handles the sales of crude oil, Nigeria’s major foreign exchange earner, on behalf of the Federal Government, had been described in some quarters as “the cesspit of corruption.”

In the last couple of years, particularly under the immediate past government of President Goodluck Jonathan, the corporation had been accused of failure to remit in full accruals to the federation account with allegation of shady deals in crude oil sales linked to an unnamed minister.

Fortnight ago, President Buhari began what is seen as a major shakeup in the corporation with the appointment of Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, as the new group managing director (GMD), followed in quick succession by the sack of all executive directors in what marks the beginning of the structuring of the federally owned corporation.

But workers in the oil and gas industry are insisting that the president should go beyond the restructuring to a total reform in the nation’s political system that will make it impossible for the political class to meddle in the affairs and activities of the NNPC.

Francis Johnson, president, PENGASSAN, who spoke at the triennial delegates’ conference of the workers in Abeokuta, Ogun State, alleged that high level of political interference by the political class had been the bane of the NNPC.

Only this step will make the corporation to be efficient, and put it in a position to “complete among its peers in the world, such as the Saudi Armco of Saudi Arabia, Petronas of Malaysia and Petrobras of Brazil,” he said.

PENGASSAN also decried the fruitless effort in getting the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) passed by previous governments, saying in its (PIB) absence and transparency were lacking in the manner the industry was being run.

“If the PIB has been passed into law, the controversies surrounding the reforms of the sector will not have been necessary. Some of the challenges confronting the industry would have been resolved because the provisions of the bill cover some of the issues raised by the protagonists of the reforms.

“Now, nobody is mentioning the Bill again. The uncertainty of the bill is not comfortable to investors and stakeholders in the industry. The government should let us know what they intend to do about the bill and the process it will use to fast track its passage into law,” Johnson said.

He also advocated for transparency and due process as the government planned a new round of bids for the country’s oil blocs, alleging that previous biddings were characterised by lots of discrepancies and irregularities.

The oil workers, who also expressed concern over the current threat of job cuts by global oil majors, advised the oil companies to exercise caution, saying the growing redundancy tendency in the industry under the guise of the effects of global drop in oil prices was unacceptable and may be resisted by the union.