The Department of Petroleum Resources and Conoil Producing are to meet this week over the controversial OPL 2007, one of the blocks won by the company at the just-concluded bidding round.
Also, the company (Conoil), it was learnt, yesterday paid the 50 per cent balance of the Signature Bonus for the OPL 290.
Although a Conoil official stated that the meeting was for a formal handover of the OPL 2007 to his company, which emerged the bona fide winner of the block, a highly placed DPR source who though confirmed that the company has been invited to a round table meeting, declined further comments on the oil block, which elicited reactions from industry operators, following the refusal of the department to invite the company to come and pick it up, more than one week after Dangote Oil and Gas, a company which had preemptive rights for the two blocks, but failed to match the winning bids, officially informed the agency about its withdrawal from the two blocks.
At the bidding conference, held in Abuja Sheraton Hotels and Towers, about a fortnight ago, Conoil had outbid Dangote Oil and Gas, which enjoys a Right of First of First Refusal (RoFR) and three other companies, after it paid $105 for OPl 290 and $110 million for OPL 2007 respectively.
But the later, which has preemptive rights to the blocks had agreed to match the winning bid put up by Conoil and was given up till last Tuesday last week, to match the winning bids.
But following its inability to match the winning bid, the DPR last week invited Conoil, the winning bidder to come for only the OPL 290, but has since remained silent on block 2007.
But the action by the agency has continued to attract criticism from various quarters, as stakeholders view the development as not only capable of eroding the transparency of the exercise but runs contrary to the 2007 bidding round rules, which provides that if the bidder with preemptive right fails to pay, the winning bidder automatically takes up the block.
(C)Chika Amanze-Nwachuku--Thisday
Fuel Price Hike: TUC Gives FG 14-day Ultimatum - As Oil Workers Begin Strike Nation-wide
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal government to reverse the increase in petrol price from N75 to N65 per litre.
The congress also said that the five per cent being charged for Value Added Tax should remain instead of the 10 per cent to which it was increased by former President Olusegun Obasanjo less than 48 hours to his leaving office.
The congress also called for the reversal of the sale of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
It said failure to do this would lead to an indefinite strike by the union.
The TUC gave the ultimatum on Friday in Lagos after its emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the office of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
The communique of the meeting was signed by the TUC’s President General, Comrade Peter Esele, and Secretary General, Comrade John Kolawole.
The communique stated that apart from the increase of fuel price and sale of the refineries, “the congress is of the strong belief that the Nigerian workers and the masses cannot afford to absorb the spiralling inflation occasioned by the unholy actions.”
It also called for the implementation of the 15 per cent salary increase with effect from January 2007.
Meanwhile, President of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Peter Akpatason has ordered all members of the Union to proceed on strike against the hike in petroleum products.
Comrade Akpatason gave the directive on Friday morning from America where he went for a seminar, adding that it is necessary to embark on strike as a way of expressing their disgust over the hike.
He used the opportunity to appeal to President Umaru Yar’Adua to reduce the price and allow Nigerians to enjoy the dividend of democracy.
Saturday Tribune gathered that all the depots in the South-West part of the country have complied with the directives.
Speaking with ST, the Vice-Chairman of Ibadan depot, Alhaji Tajudeen Olalekan explained that independent depots in Lagos have embarked on strike since Wednesday based on the harassment they faced with the Lagos State Traffick Management Agency (LASTMA) over parking space of the trucks that comes to load in Lagos.
Said he:“We actually came to work today expecting to get products loaded at a reduced price as promised by the federal government but to our surprise, the Special Depot Managers told us that there was no fuel supply and we later got the president’s directives.
All efforts to get the Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Ibadan Unit proved abortive.
Queues have started to re-appear in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja less than a week after the hike in the pump price of fuel from N65 per litre to N75 per litre.
Long queues of vehicles have become a common feature in most filling stations in the metropolis and environs in the past three days.
Some of the motorists, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja, blamed the development on marketers involved in product hoarding and diversion.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had issued a threat to go on strike over the sale of African Petroleum (AP) and the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
At the AP filling station in Maitama, the station manager, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that the station had no difficulty in the supply and distribution of fuel.
The manager said the build-up of queues, which, he observed, started on Wednesday could be as a result of some motorists who came from outside the FCT to buy the commodity.
The source noted that of late filling stations in the FCT had been witnessing queues of vehicles.
Five days into the new pump price regime the regulatory body of the oil and gas sector, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), said that it was yet to receive any official notification from PPPRA.
In spite of being Africa’s biggest oil producer fuel shortages have severely affected the country.
Many Nigerians have been forced to pay exce-ssive prices for the commodity at the black market.
(C)Rasheed Komolafe and Qudirat Hakeem-Apanpa--Tribune
The congress also said that the five per cent being charged for Value Added Tax should remain instead of the 10 per cent to which it was increased by former President Olusegun Obasanjo less than 48 hours to his leaving office.
The congress also called for the reversal of the sale of the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
It said failure to do this would lead to an indefinite strike by the union.
The TUC gave the ultimatum on Friday in Lagos after its emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the office of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
The communique of the meeting was signed by the TUC’s President General, Comrade Peter Esele, and Secretary General, Comrade John Kolawole.
The communique stated that apart from the increase of fuel price and sale of the refineries, “the congress is of the strong belief that the Nigerian workers and the masses cannot afford to absorb the spiralling inflation occasioned by the unholy actions.”
It also called for the implementation of the 15 per cent salary increase with effect from January 2007.
Meanwhile, President of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Peter Akpatason has ordered all members of the Union to proceed on strike against the hike in petroleum products.
Comrade Akpatason gave the directive on Friday morning from America where he went for a seminar, adding that it is necessary to embark on strike as a way of expressing their disgust over the hike.
He used the opportunity to appeal to President Umaru Yar’Adua to reduce the price and allow Nigerians to enjoy the dividend of democracy.
Saturday Tribune gathered that all the depots in the South-West part of the country have complied with the directives.
Speaking with ST, the Vice-Chairman of Ibadan depot, Alhaji Tajudeen Olalekan explained that independent depots in Lagos have embarked on strike since Wednesday based on the harassment they faced with the Lagos State Traffick Management Agency (LASTMA) over parking space of the trucks that comes to load in Lagos.
Said he:“We actually came to work today expecting to get products loaded at a reduced price as promised by the federal government but to our surprise, the Special Depot Managers told us that there was no fuel supply and we later got the president’s directives.
All efforts to get the Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Ibadan Unit proved abortive.
Queues have started to re-appear in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja less than a week after the hike in the pump price of fuel from N65 per litre to N75 per litre.
Long queues of vehicles have become a common feature in most filling stations in the metropolis and environs in the past three days.
Some of the motorists, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja, blamed the development on marketers involved in product hoarding and diversion.
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) had issued a threat to go on strike over the sale of African Petroleum (AP) and the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries.
At the AP filling station in Maitama, the station manager, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that the station had no difficulty in the supply and distribution of fuel.
The manager said the build-up of queues, which, he observed, started on Wednesday could be as a result of some motorists who came from outside the FCT to buy the commodity.
The source noted that of late filling stations in the FCT had been witnessing queues of vehicles.
Five days into the new pump price regime the regulatory body of the oil and gas sector, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), said that it was yet to receive any official notification from PPPRA.
In spite of being Africa’s biggest oil producer fuel shortages have severely affected the country.
Many Nigerians have been forced to pay exce-ssive prices for the commodity at the black market.
(C)Rasheed Komolafe and Qudirat Hakeem-Apanpa--Tribune
PENGASSAN, NUPENG Threaten Showdown over Refinery Takeover
Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) branch of the Petroleum and Natural Gas, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum Energy and Natural Gas (NUPENG) workers, have vowed to resist any attempt at taking over of the Kaduna Refinery over what they described as “a charade transaction on the part of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE). Kaduna refinery was recently sold to BlueStar Oil Services Consortium at the cost of $160 million.
But in a joint press briefing yesterday in Kaduna by PENGASSAN and NUPENG, the transaction was described as lack in transparency, and the unions vowed to resist any takeover attempt until all issues raised are resolved.
“It has become necessary for the two In-house Unions of KRPC to comment on the purported sale of the company, in a deal that was sealed under the table, to a company that has no record of refinery operations and for a price that can only be described as give-away.
“Based on the glaring lack of transparency in the privatisation process and insincerity on the part of BPE, the sale of KRPC fails to meet the minimum standard, set by the government and cannot in any sense of the word said to have been a transparent exercise.
“First, the sole bidder, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), failed to match the undisclosed reserved price for KRPC during the first and second rounds of bidding, suddenly another company that calls itself Bluestar Oil Service Consortium that did not submit any bid, that did not conduct any due diligence on the facility, that is completely alien to the transaction, that has no track record in the refining sector, is now said to have bought 51 per cent shares of KRPC in a process the BPE described as ‘closed-in’ bidding,” the group said.
(C)Reuben Buhari--Thisday
But in a joint press briefing yesterday in Kaduna by PENGASSAN and NUPENG, the transaction was described as lack in transparency, and the unions vowed to resist any takeover attempt until all issues raised are resolved.
“It has become necessary for the two In-house Unions of KRPC to comment on the purported sale of the company, in a deal that was sealed under the table, to a company that has no record of refinery operations and for a price that can only be described as give-away.
“Based on the glaring lack of transparency in the privatisation process and insincerity on the part of BPE, the sale of KRPC fails to meet the minimum standard, set by the government and cannot in any sense of the word said to have been a transparent exercise.
“First, the sole bidder, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), failed to match the undisclosed reserved price for KRPC during the first and second rounds of bidding, suddenly another company that calls itself Bluestar Oil Service Consortium that did not submit any bid, that did not conduct any due diligence on the facility, that is completely alien to the transaction, that has no track record in the refining sector, is now said to have bought 51 per cent shares of KRPC in a process the BPE described as ‘closed-in’ bidding,” the group said.
(C)Reuben Buhari--Thisday
How this fuel price hike affects inflation, GDP, others
The history of fuel increase started in 1978 in the then general Olusegun Obasanjo’s military regime. The impact of all such increases has always been the same, reducing people’s purchasing power, and some cases reducing revenue accruable to government.
The effect of fuel price increase to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy can not be overemphasized. Consequently, it has worsened the economic crises in Nigerian economy. In this section we discuss specifically the effect of increase of fuel price to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Government Revenue. Furthermore, we discuss its effect on unemployment and inflation.
Impact on GDP
Since 1978, the fuel price increase has negatively contributed to the country’s GDP downward trend. The tables below summary the effect of petrol price increase to the country’s GDP.
In 1978, the fuel price increased to 15 percent, while GDP fell by 5.8 percent. In 1982 the the price rose to 20kobo, while GDP fell by 0.2 percent. In October, 1994 the fuel price fell from N 15.00 per litre to N 11.00 per litre and stood till 1998, while GDP fell by 0.6 percent in 1994 and rose to 2.6 percent in 1995.
The interesting trend that is revealed in the analysis above is the negative relationship between fuel price and GDP since the deregulation policy. Thus, any time the fuel increases the GDP tend to decrease.
Government revenue
Fuel price increase has a negative significant on Government revenue. In 1982, the fuel price increased to 20kobo, while total federally collected revenue fell to N 11,764million. In 1986 fuel price rose to 39.5kobo, while government revenue fell to N12,382 million. However, the fuel price, in 1993 and 1994 fell to N3.50 and N 11.00 per litre respectively, while government revenue rose to N138,874 million and N 201,911million respectively. In 1998, fuel price rose to N 25.00 pre litre, while government revenue fell to N 463,609 million.
Thus, this inverse relationship can be attributed to labor unrest which has resulted a fall in oil and gas industry activities, consequently affecting the revenue that would have accrued to government coffer.
Unemployment
As it has been observed that labour demand is influenced by money wage rate, while labour supply is influenced by expected real wage rate. Thus, wage legislation has affected labour market negatively.
In 1982, petrol price rose to 20 kobo, while unemployment stood at 4.1 percent. During the period 1986-1990, fuel price rose to 60 kobo, while unemployment fell to 3.4 percent.Between 1991 and 1992 rose to 70 kobo, while unemployment stood at 3.8 percent and 4.0 percent respectively. However, the inverse relationship witnessed during the period 1986-1990, can be attributed to the impact of SAP, positively on the economy, which eroded in 1991. However, the positive relationship can be attributed to high cost of production which resulted layoff.
Inflation
According to Kuti, B.R.,as posited by Mba-Afolabi, J.(1999),the outrageous price increase had made life unbearable for Nigerians as prices of goods and transport fares had risen, forcing people to trek long distances . To complement this Tell, a weekly media publication posited that inflation may also be attributable to the hike in petroleum products and transportation cost.
Going by analysis, in 1978 petrol price increased to 15kobo,while inflation rate rose to 21.7 percent. However, in 1993 petrol price fell to N 3.25, while inflation rose to 57.20 percent. In 1998, fuel price rose to N 25 .00, while inflation rate stood at 10.00 percent. Furthermore, in 1999, it fell to N20.00, while inflation rate declined to 6.6 percent. The inverse relationship can be attributed to deficit financing by federal government.
Recommendation
The following recommendations are made in the hope that they could Proffer a solution to the destabilized economy, prompted by hike in fuel prices.
i) Since we import, based on world export market such that we bring into the country refined oil products, the next thing to do now is to subsidize. Since the federal government makes more money from excess of budgetary projection per barrel. The president should prepare supplementary appropriation bill to get fund approved to subsidize the local prices of petroleum products. That’s, government should control the prices of petroleum products, rather than leaving it to market forces, by which, it means to the importers the NNPC and the private internal and external business moguls. Such a situation will enable the small clique of refined petroleum importers to make abnormal profits at the expenses of the country and its ordinary citizens. However, government should sell to NNPC, price that is below the price that prevail in world oil market while NNPC export (crude oil) base on the world oil market price and use the excess to subsidize the imported refined oil products.
ii) The nation refineries’ Turn-Around-Maintenance (TAM) should be consolidated with transparency and accountability. If our existing refineries are functioning at full capacity, they can meet Nigerians’ internal fuel needs and some excess for export and strategic reserve of products demand. Therefore, their repairs should be given urgent attention. Thus, price hike comes after, not before the repair of the refineries.
iii) The labour union and private sector should be carried along before the increase to forestall a major unrest.
iv). Also, the resources should be channeled to productive ventures that would lead to physical development and touch the life the average Nigerian
Conclusion
From the analysis so far, we are to say that fuel price hike has worsen the economic situation of Nigeria. However, if the above recommendations are put in place, the fuel situation when price increases would improve the economy and the protest and threats of labor would be avoided. Consequently, the economy will be disengaged from stigma and economic quagmire that have had been inhabiting the Nigerian economy from experiencing real economic growth/development. .There is tremendous anger amongst millions of low-paid Nigerian workers against the price hike imposed on January 1. Most workers survive on around $300 per year, and even before the fuel price increases were unable to provide enough food for their families. According to a report by the World Bank, around 66 percent of the population now falls below the poverty line of $1 a day, compared to 43 percent in 1985.
(C)BLESSING ANARO--Businessday
The effect of fuel price increase to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy can not be overemphasized. Consequently, it has worsened the economic crises in Nigerian economy. In this section we discuss specifically the effect of increase of fuel price to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Government Revenue. Furthermore, we discuss its effect on unemployment and inflation.
Impact on GDP
Since 1978, the fuel price increase has negatively contributed to the country’s GDP downward trend. The tables below summary the effect of petrol price increase to the country’s GDP.
In 1978, the fuel price increased to 15 percent, while GDP fell by 5.8 percent. In 1982 the the price rose to 20kobo, while GDP fell by 0.2 percent. In October, 1994 the fuel price fell from N 15.00 per litre to N 11.00 per litre and stood till 1998, while GDP fell by 0.6 percent in 1994 and rose to 2.6 percent in 1995.
The interesting trend that is revealed in the analysis above is the negative relationship between fuel price and GDP since the deregulation policy. Thus, any time the fuel increases the GDP tend to decrease.
Government revenue
Fuel price increase has a negative significant on Government revenue. In 1982, the fuel price increased to 20kobo, while total federally collected revenue fell to N 11,764million. In 1986 fuel price rose to 39.5kobo, while government revenue fell to N12,382 million. However, the fuel price, in 1993 and 1994 fell to N3.50 and N 11.00 per litre respectively, while government revenue rose to N138,874 million and N 201,911million respectively. In 1998, fuel price rose to N 25.00 pre litre, while government revenue fell to N 463,609 million.
Thus, this inverse relationship can be attributed to labor unrest which has resulted a fall in oil and gas industry activities, consequently affecting the revenue that would have accrued to government coffer.
Unemployment
As it has been observed that labour demand is influenced by money wage rate, while labour supply is influenced by expected real wage rate. Thus, wage legislation has affected labour market negatively.
In 1982, petrol price rose to 20 kobo, while unemployment stood at 4.1 percent. During the period 1986-1990, fuel price rose to 60 kobo, while unemployment fell to 3.4 percent.Between 1991 and 1992 rose to 70 kobo, while unemployment stood at 3.8 percent and 4.0 percent respectively. However, the inverse relationship witnessed during the period 1986-1990, can be attributed to the impact of SAP, positively on the economy, which eroded in 1991. However, the positive relationship can be attributed to high cost of production which resulted layoff.
Inflation
According to Kuti, B.R.,as posited by Mba-Afolabi, J.(1999),the outrageous price increase had made life unbearable for Nigerians as prices of goods and transport fares had risen, forcing people to trek long distances . To complement this Tell, a weekly media publication posited that inflation may also be attributable to the hike in petroleum products and transportation cost.
Going by analysis, in 1978 petrol price increased to 15kobo,while inflation rate rose to 21.7 percent. However, in 1993 petrol price fell to N 3.25, while inflation rose to 57.20 percent. In 1998, fuel price rose to N 25 .00, while inflation rate stood at 10.00 percent. Furthermore, in 1999, it fell to N20.00, while inflation rate declined to 6.6 percent. The inverse relationship can be attributed to deficit financing by federal government.
Recommendation
The following recommendations are made in the hope that they could Proffer a solution to the destabilized economy, prompted by hike in fuel prices.
i) Since we import, based on world export market such that we bring into the country refined oil products, the next thing to do now is to subsidize. Since the federal government makes more money from excess of budgetary projection per barrel. The president should prepare supplementary appropriation bill to get fund approved to subsidize the local prices of petroleum products. That’s, government should control the prices of petroleum products, rather than leaving it to market forces, by which, it means to the importers the NNPC and the private internal and external business moguls. Such a situation will enable the small clique of refined petroleum importers to make abnormal profits at the expenses of the country and its ordinary citizens. However, government should sell to NNPC, price that is below the price that prevail in world oil market while NNPC export (crude oil) base on the world oil market price and use the excess to subsidize the imported refined oil products.
ii) The nation refineries’ Turn-Around-Maintenance (TAM) should be consolidated with transparency and accountability. If our existing refineries are functioning at full capacity, they can meet Nigerians’ internal fuel needs and some excess for export and strategic reserve of products demand. Therefore, their repairs should be given urgent attention. Thus, price hike comes after, not before the repair of the refineries.
iii) The labour union and private sector should be carried along before the increase to forestall a major unrest.
iv). Also, the resources should be channeled to productive ventures that would lead to physical development and touch the life the average Nigerian
Conclusion
From the analysis so far, we are to say that fuel price hike has worsen the economic situation of Nigeria. However, if the above recommendations are put in place, the fuel situation when price increases would improve the economy and the protest and threats of labor would be avoided. Consequently, the economy will be disengaged from stigma and economic quagmire that have had been inhabiting the Nigerian economy from experiencing real economic growth/development. .There is tremendous anger amongst millions of low-paid Nigerian workers against the price hike imposed on January 1. Most workers survive on around $300 per year, and even before the fuel price increases were unable to provide enough food for their families. According to a report by the World Bank, around 66 percent of the population now falls below the poverty line of $1 a day, compared to 43 percent in 1985.
(C)BLESSING ANARO--Businessday
NLC, TUC meet on fuel price
The National Executive Council (NEC) of both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) will meet today in Abuja and Lagos respectively to deliberate on the recent hike in prices of petroleum products and sales of Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries.
Other issues pencilled for deliberations are job loss, salary increase, among others.
Peter Esele, TUC president-general, who spoke with Business Day on phone, said series of meetings would also be held by members of both National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) at branch level to deliberate on salient issues peculiar to various braches of the unions.
Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN deputy general secretary, however, denied the report that the union was embarking on industrial action, saying that such decision could only be taken by the nation executive council of the unions.
According to him, the meeting will bring to fore the state of political ruling in the country, assuring that far-reaching decisions will be taken whether or not to embark on strike to further press in their demands.
It would be recalled that the workers in collaboration with the various civil society groups in the country including Alliance for Credible elections (ACE) met in Abuja to declare the two days, sit-at-home protest on May 28 and 29.
The oil workers had on Monday and Tuesday joined the two-day strike action in solidarity with other workers’ unions and civil society groups to protest against the May 29 handing over to President Umaru Yar’Adua as well as sales of the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries, respectively.
NUPENG and PENGASSAN had expressed concern over the apprehensive sales of the two refineries to Bluestar Oil Services, a consortium of Transcorp, Zenon Oil and Dangote Oil and Gas Limited, as well as the job cut that has led to the disengagement of about 4,000 workers in the sector.
They also accused the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and authority of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of breaching the agreement reached before the sales of the two refineries.
The agreements include salary packages and pension scheme.
Omar Abdulwaheed, NLC president, informed Business Day that the high-level meeting would among other things decide on the recent increase in fuel prices as well as fashion out strategy for government.
The NLC frowned at the hike, saying the decision did not follow due process being a solitary decision taken by the immediate past civilian president, Olusegun Obasanjo.
"A government that is in the twilight of its tenure has no right or reason to increase the price of petrol at this point. By so doing, President Olusegun Obasanjo has confirmed the widely held fear that he is deliberately planting landmines and sowing the seeds of instability and acrimony in the polity ahead of his exit from office."
(C)Kehinde Akintola--Businessday
Other issues pencilled for deliberations are job loss, salary increase, among others.
Peter Esele, TUC president-general, who spoke with Business Day on phone, said series of meetings would also be held by members of both National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) at branch level to deliberate on salient issues peculiar to various braches of the unions.
Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN deputy general secretary, however, denied the report that the union was embarking on industrial action, saying that such decision could only be taken by the nation executive council of the unions.
According to him, the meeting will bring to fore the state of political ruling in the country, assuring that far-reaching decisions will be taken whether or not to embark on strike to further press in their demands.
It would be recalled that the workers in collaboration with the various civil society groups in the country including Alliance for Credible elections (ACE) met in Abuja to declare the two days, sit-at-home protest on May 28 and 29.
The oil workers had on Monday and Tuesday joined the two-day strike action in solidarity with other workers’ unions and civil society groups to protest against the May 29 handing over to President Umaru Yar’Adua as well as sales of the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries, respectively.
NUPENG and PENGASSAN had expressed concern over the apprehensive sales of the two refineries to Bluestar Oil Services, a consortium of Transcorp, Zenon Oil and Dangote Oil and Gas Limited, as well as the job cut that has led to the disengagement of about 4,000 workers in the sector.
They also accused the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and authority of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of breaching the agreement reached before the sales of the two refineries.
The agreements include salary packages and pension scheme.
Omar Abdulwaheed, NLC president, informed Business Day that the high-level meeting would among other things decide on the recent increase in fuel prices as well as fashion out strategy for government.
The NLC frowned at the hike, saying the decision did not follow due process being a solitary decision taken by the immediate past civilian president, Olusegun Obasanjo.
"A government that is in the twilight of its tenure has no right or reason to increase the price of petrol at this point. By so doing, President Olusegun Obasanjo has confirmed the widely held fear that he is deliberately planting landmines and sowing the seeds of instability and acrimony in the polity ahead of his exit from office."
(C)Kehinde Akintola--Businessday
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Seed Newsvine