NUPENG urges quick passage of other petroleum laws

PENGASSAN commends Reps over opposition to NLNG sale
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has called on the National Assembly to pass the other three petroleum laws pending before it. The National President of the union, Williams Akporeha, who stated this recently, also expressed concerns about the delay in passage of the three other components of the bill.

He stressed that the passage of the remaining bills namely, the Fiscal Framework Host Communities’ Issues, the Petroleum Industry Administration Bill will go a long way to ensure transparency and accountability in the oil and gas industry.

The NUPENG chief further noted that the passage of the remaining three components would restore investors’ confidence and generate employment opportunities and also reduce the tension in the Niger Delta.He said that the nation has lost billions of Naira in foreign investment, which would have come into the oil and gas industry but for the uncertainties, and prolonged delay in the passage of the bill into law.

As a result of the unbundling in good stead in order to save the nation from unnecessary industrial crisis, Akporeha called on the National Assembly to treat all labour related issues that may arise thereof.

Meanwhile, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has commended the House of Representatives’ decision to pass a resolution cautioning the Federal Government against executing the proposed sale of her shares in the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).Reacting to the call by the House of Representatives on the urgent need to stop the sale of the gas company, the oil worker said it was in tandem with the position on the need for the government to retain its shares’ ownership in the company.

The senior oil workers advised that rather than the Federal Government selling a viable company like NLNG whose dividends was used to kick-start and financed the economy when Nigeria was in recession, government should explore other options to resuscitate the economy.

PENGASSAN in a statement by the National Public Relations Officer, Fortune Obi said that about 18,000 jobs would be lost if the Federal Government make do its plan on the proposed sale of her shares in Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).

Noting that the losses that would accrue from the sales of the NLNG far outweighed its gains, the association advised investors who were clamouring for the Federal Government to sell her shares in NLNG to find another means of injecting their resources into the economy instead of buying a successful company.

Obi also stated that the NLNG model has been the best option so far and should be replicated in other government failed ventures such as the refineries and others, adding that the international community would perceive Nigeria as a country that is inconsistent in policy and will not take its desire for foreign investments seriously.