Oil workers to Buhari, don't take Avengers threat for granted

The Petroleum and Natu¬ral Gas Senior Staff As¬sociation of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the protection of its members working in the Niger Delta Region.
The National President of the Association, Comrade Ola¬bode Johnson while reacting to threat by Niger Delta Avengers, (NDA) warning NUPENG, PENGASSAN and foreigners to leave all oil fields and ter¬minals in the region, said such threat should not be taken for granted.

It would be recalled that the Niger Delta Avengers has in re¬cent time blow oil pipelines in the region, with a renew threat to attack the workers if they failed to leave, saying “things will get dirty very soon”.

Comrade Johnson who was speaking at the 3rd Women In PENGASSAN National Con¬ference/ Workshop also said the association is presently engag¬ing the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige over the issues, urging government to ensure peace in the region.

“We are having a meeting with the minister of Labour and employment. In view of the issue on ground, this is some¬thing we should take as prior¬ity. That kind of threat is not something that should be taken lightly.

“So I think we are going to put our feet down. Whatever the issue, let government look for a way to fast track every¬thing and discuss so that there can be peace in this country. This is not time for us to start destroying ourselves and our properties and oil installations. We all need to work together, as a country so that Nigeria can rise from the ashes of what we are going through.

On the association just sus¬pended strike, the labour la¬mented over a situation where agencies of government deci¬sions are not taken seriously by oil companies.

“We had series of meetings with the government team. But we also want to inform gov¬ernment that a situation where agencies and oil companies behaving as if they are more powerful than the government is not acceptable to the union. Everybody in the union are all Nigerians.

You cannot have an agree¬ment with the minister stand¬ing in for the president of the Federal Republic, and when it’s time to take action, you say no. We only suspended our strike, if these issues are not addressed properly, we may have to re¬sume the strike.

“Though we don’t like tak¬ing that route. That is why we are imploring every agency of government that whatever agreement reached must be re¬spected. We will abide by our side of the agreement but if they are not ready to honour theirs, we will have no choice than to resume”.