The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) has called on the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) to suspend its directive to cut off gas and crude oil supply to the Dangote refinery.
The chairman of the committee, Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday night, expressed concerns that the shutdown order could destabilise the downstream sector, scare potential investors, and undermine peaceful resolution.
“The House of Representatives Committee on downstream petroleum resources have disagreed with Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) over its ongoing industrial action and order to some of their branches to cut off Gas and crude oil supply to Dangote Refinery without notice and exhausting of the laid down procedures specified in the trade union relevant acts and called on the protesting union to lift the order and allow dialogue to lead the way,” Mr Ugochinyere said.
The lawmaker said the crisis between Dangote and PENGASSAN could destabilise downstream stability and scare investors from the country. He said PENGASSAN’s directive on gas supply was made in haste without the union exhausting all avenues to address its grievances.
“This decision will scare away foreign investors who will be worried that due process does not count in addressing grievances in the sector, hence the need for the union to return to the table for a direct talks to be presided over by the downstream committee with regulators, labour ministry, Dangote refinery in attendance to find a working sustainable solution to the challenges,” he said.
Mr Ugochinyere called on PENGASSAN to allow a continuous gas supply to Dangote and allow lawmakers to intervene in the matter in the interest of the nation.
Committee’s position
He said his committee has reached out to stakeholders for a downstream stability roundtable to enable the parties, including Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), PENGASSAN, Nigeria Union of Petroleum, Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and lawmakers, to resolve the issues that led to the shutdown order.
He said the committee has also appointed Akin Rotimi as Sub-committee Chairman with Midala Usman, Billy Osawaru, and Mathew Nwaogu as members to harmonise positions on the contending issues surrounding the disputes in the downstream sector, with regard to workers’ rights to join or not to join a union.
“The alleged issue of retrenchment, powers of private companies to run its operations in the best productive way, and other issues central to the dispute between Dangote Refinery and the Unions, especially NUPENG, PENGASSAN, etc,” he added.
He said the committee has 14 days to conclude the assignment and called on all the contending parties, especially NUPENG, PENGASSAN, Dangote refinery, etc, to submit detailed information on all the contending issues to enable the committee perform its task.
Call to action
Mr Ugochinyere called on PENGASSAN to adopt negotiation and dialogue, as well as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), recognised by labour laws everywhere.
“While this committee acknowledged the concerns of the PENGASSAN, however, it does not approve of the action embarked upon by the union with their decision to order the stoppage of gas supply to Dangote Refinery without notice.
“This action is hasty and has multiplier effects on the energy needs of Nigerians, plus likely damage to a delicate private sector investment and destabilisation of the search for sustainable peace being championed by the committee, hence the need for immediate call off of the shutdown directive,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that PENGASSAN had earlier asked its members to disrupt activities at the refinery by blocking gas supply to it.
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The association said its decision was in response to the decision by the refinery’s management to sack some workers who are members of the union. It also accused Dangote refinery of spreading misinformation to justify its actions.
In a swift response, Dangote refinery described the order as illegal and cautioned PENGASSAN to obey Nigerian laws in its operations, noting that PENGASSAN has no legal right to disrupt or interfere with the refinery’s contracts with third-party vendors for gas and crude oil supply.
The Dangote Refinery called on the federal government and its security agencies to intervene and call PENGASSAN to order, urging that PENGASSAN’s actions are not only lawless but also have the potential to inflict significant harm on the Nigerian economy and citizens.
