Reps Committee Tackles PENGASSAN Over Planned Shutdown Of Crude Oil Supply To Dangote Refinery

The House of Representatives Committee connected Downstream Petroleum Resources has opposed the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) implicit its ongoing concern enactment and bid to immoderate of their branches to chopped disconnected state and crude lipid supplies to Dangote Refinery.

The legislative committee said PENGASSAN’s enactment was without announcement and exhaustion of the laid down procedures specified successful the commercialized national applicable Acts, calling connected the protesting national to assistance the bid and let dialog to pb the way.

The Downstream Committee connected Petroleum Resources saddled with the legislative powers of oversighting downstream petroleum sector, lamented the apt economical harm that tin wounded ongoing efforts to pull investors and physique a moving downstream assemblage that volition beryllium beneficial to the workers, Nigerian people, vigor information and a commercially viable competitory downstream sector.

According to the president of the Committee, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, during a property briefing successful Lagos, helium said the concern crisis, which among others led to the bid for cutoff proviso to indigenous refining institution – Dangote – volition destabilise downstream stableness and scare investors distant from the state arsenic the directive was made successful a haste without each indispensable avenues for addressing their grievances exhausted.

“This determination volition scare distant overseas investors who volition beryllium disquieted that owed process does not number successful addressing grievances successful the sector, hence the request for the national to instrumentality to the array for a nonstop talks to beryllium presided implicit by the downstream committee with regulators, labour ministry, Dangote Refinery successful attendance to find a moving sustainable solution to the challenges,” Ugochinyere stated

He further called connected PENGASSAN to extremity the ongoing enactment arsenic good arsenic reconstruct proviso to Dangote and let lawmakers to intervene successful the substance successful the involvement of the nation.

He said the committee has reached retired to stakeholders for a downstream stableness roundtable successful bid to alteration the parties including Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), PENGASSAN and Nigeria Union of Petroleum, Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and lawmakers, to resoluteness the issues that led to the shutdown order.

The president announced that the committee has besides appointed Hon. Akin Rotimi arsenic Sub-committee president with Hon. Midala Usman, Hon. Billy Osawaru and Hon. Mathew Nwaogu, arsenic members to harmonise positions connected the contending issues surrounding the disputes successful the downstream petroleum assemblage arsenic it has to bash with contented of workers close to articulation oregon not to articulation union, the alleged contented of retrenchment, powers of backstage companies to tally its operations successful the champion productive way, and different issues cardinal to the quality betwixt Dangote Refinery and labour unions, particularly NUPENG, PENGASSAN, and others.

The House Committee president said the sheet has 14 days to circular up the duty and called connected each the contending parties, particularly NUPENG, PENGASSAN, Dangote Refinery, and others, to taxable a elaborate accusation connected each the contending issues to alteration the committee to travel retired with an informed mode guardant that tin assistance to resoluteness each the issues

Ugochinyere reiterated the telephone connected the aggrieved lipid and state workers to extremity the concern enactment and clasp methods of resolving Laboir national situation specified arsenic dialog and dialog arsenic good arsenic Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) recognised by labour laws everywhere.

“While this committee acknowledged the concerns of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), nevertheless it does not o.k. of the enactment embarked upon by the Union with their determination to bid for stoppage of state proviso to Dangote Refinery without notice. This enactment is hasty and person multiplier effects connected the vigor needs of Nigerians positive apt harm to a delicate backstage assemblage concern and destabilisation of the hunt for sustainable bid been championed by the Committee, hence the request for contiguous telephone disconnected of the shutdown directive,” he declared.