The members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have vehemently opposed proposal made by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to scrap the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other regulatory agencies in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
The oil workers, in a statement issued by their union’s spokesman, Comrade Emmanuel Ojugbana, yesterday, said that it was only the National Assembly that possessed the power to repeal or enact laws pertaining to the corporations and other agencies duly established by law.
The statement said: “While it is important to note that a wholesome reform in the oil and gas industry is desirable and proper, it is equally unadvisable to contemplate any sort of restructuring without the buy-in of the very persons such action will directly or indirectly impact. It is curious to note that a critical aspect of organisational reforms like the work force would be over-looked in the current contemplation.
It said that the PENGASSAN was left in the dark regarding the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly, despite the contributions it made in the early stage of the bill’s preparation.
The statement said that the PENGASSAN would continue to insist on making genuine reforms in the oil sector, with a view to sanitising the system and regaining confidence of Nigerians and stakeholders in the industry.
It said that the association would support any initiative aimed at revamping the oil and gas industry, warning, however, that it would resist attempts to under develop and impoverish Nigerians under the guise of restructuring.
