The Senate has endorsed the private-public partnership (PPP) for the repair of the country’s four refineries, even as the petroleum industry house union; National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has vowed to resist any move by the government that would not favour Nigerian workers.
The union in a chat with Shipping Position Daily called for a stakeholders’ meeting between the government and the public on the privatization of the refineries in order to allow the workers make their input.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that the upper legislature had suspended a contract awarded to Eni/Agip and Oando Plc to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt Refinery, claiming that it did not follow due process; the Senate constituted an ad- hoc committee to probe the deal.
The Joint Upstream and Downstream Senate Committees probe followed reports that the refinery was to be privatized or concessioned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with Oando and Eni as the preferred consortium.
Its Chairman, Senator Abubakar Kyari said: “We’ve heard extensive summations from all parties involved regarding this concession process. Inevitably, partnerships between the public and private sectors are necessary to provide the required funding to rehabilitate our nation’s refineries. We are committed to due process, and in seeking to achieve these goals, sound principles of corporate governance and extant laws must be adhered to, for the greater good of the Nigerian people. Indeed we will come up with recommendations aimed at improving transparency in the oil sub-sector of the economy and at the same time encourage investors.”
At the event were: the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando PLC, Massimo Insula, Managing Director Nigerian Agip Oil Company, and Aniebor Kraghas, Chief Operating Officer, NNPC.
However, in a chat with Shipping Position Daily last week, South West Chairman of NUPENG, Alhaji Nojeem Korodo revealed that the union is holding an enlarged meeting this week Thursday in Abuja to deliberate on the moves by the Senate.
He warned that the union would not take the back seat while the government deliberates on a decision that would affect millions of Nigerians.
“On the proposed privatization of refineries across the country, we are having a meeting next week Thursday (this week) in Abuja to make our position known to the government on privatization of the nation’s refineries”
“My personal opinion is that any privatization that would make the workers lose their job, we are not going to support it, and before any policy would be implemented, there must be a stakeholders’ meeting where divergent opinions including that of the labour has to be considered before any implementation would come up. This is the mind I am taking to that meeting” he said.
Discussion about this post