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PRESS RELEASE NUPENG WORRIED ABOUT DROP IN LOCAL REFINERIES PRODUCTION The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is worried and concerned about the output from the refineries which has dropped at an average of 16 percent of their combined nameplate capacity of 445,000 barrels per day. This is an unfortunate and uncomfortable development for the downstream oil and gas sector of the economy. The union regrets, that the four refineries operated at 10 percent installed capacity in June which is a shame, despite the abundance of crude oil deposits in the land. The union notes that in this era of government imposed austerity measures, the run on the foreign exchange to import fuel will tell much on the economy, thus fueling more hardship, especially to the down-trodden masses. NUPENG re-iterates that a cabal is benefitting from importation of fuel at the expense of our people and also working in unison to make the four nation’s refineries not to work but to lobby the powers that be for it to be sold to them as scraps. The union adds that the federal government must ensure the Turn-aroundmaintenance of the four nation’s refineries and make sure that adequate supply of crude is sent in order to reduce the importation of petroleum products. NUPENG deplores the current state of the refineries, as they are strategic, and for security reasons must not be allowed to rot away and sold but increase their capacity utilization and establish new ones. The union insists that it will not allow government to sell the refineries as scraps when they can be reactivated and reduce the current massive importation of petroleum products into the country, that is the eight largest producer of the black gold. NUPENG states that as part of the re-industrialisation programme and transformation agenda of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to revive our industries, that the nation’s four refineries must be put fully on stream in order to generate more jobs and save the nation of scarce foreign exchange. The union calls on the federal government to also put machineries in motion to effectively police the pipelines from vandalisation, so that crude can reach the refineries un-interrupted. Comrade (Dr.) Igwe Achese President

PRESS RELEASE INSECURITY SITUATION IN THE NORTH EAST WORRIES NUPENG The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is worried about the current insecurity situation in the North-Eastern part of the country, as the Boko Haram insurgents are over-running towns and villages in the area. The union notes that the following towns, Gulak, Madagali, Michika, Uba, Bazza in Adamawa have fallen to the insurgents, while Banki, Gwoza, Bama have fallen in Borno, while the onslaught and senseless killings and plundering continues. The union calls on the military to declare the area a war-zone and flush out the insurgents as there cannot be a caliphate within a republic. NUPENG states that the military must be fully armed with modern day weaponry to challenge and flush out the insurgents who are carrying sophisticated arms. The union wants a concerted effort with the support of our neighbouring countries, namely Cameroun, Niger, and Chad to help stem the current tide, as the insurgents will have no hiding place. The union calls on the Federal and States government in the North-East to address the refugee problem from people running out of the disaster zone. NUPENG adds that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) must deploy more men and relief materials to assist the refugees. NUPENG states that it is a high time a decisive decision was taken to nip the current invasion of the terrorists in the bud, before it leads to serious security implications on our existence as a nation. The union adds that the current situation has led to a collapse of the economy in the area, as movement is now restricted, schools, clinics, business centres have been closed down. The union reiterated that more troops and aerial bombardments be launched to push out the insurgents, as our military did to restore order in Liberia and Sierra-Leone during their turbulent period. Comrade (Dr.) Igwe Achese President

NUPENG CAUTIONS MARITIME UNION ON CALL FOR RELOCATION OF TANKFARMS IN APAPA The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) attention has been drawn to the recent statement credited to the President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Comrade Anthony Nted, and the issuance of a 14-day ultimatum to government to relocate tank farms from Apapa because of the traffic gridlock. NUPENG does not want to join issues with the Maritime Workers Union as it has the right to issue an ultimatum to government on issues that affects its members but frown at the demand of the relocation of tank-farms from Apapa and evacuation of Petroleum Tankers from the roads. The Union observes that the traffic gridlock in Apapa is caused by many factors, which include the heavy-laden containers that ply the Apapa bad road, with most of them falling off on vehicles causing traffic jams with deaths recorded. These trucks and trailers ply the Apapa ports daily causing gridlock on the already bad road. Be that as it may, there is gridlock on virtually on all roads in Lagos and that has not given rise to demand that all vehicles must be evacuated. The tank-farms located at Apapa receive petroleum products from ships and the tankers go there to load for onward distribution to the nooks and crannies of the country. The Union states that for the Maritime union to blame the tankers going to load fuel at the tank farms as the cause of the gridlock is a misnomer. The Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of NUPENG have their Internal Vehicle Inspection Officers (V.I.O) who make sure that the vehicles are orderly in the tank farm areas to load petroleum products. They have even devised a means of using the GSM to alert those whose turn are next to load instead of all of them crowding the area. The V.I.O’s make sure that the tankers are in good order that is why you hardly see any breakdown on the highway, except containerized trucks coming from the ports. The union therefore rejects the accusation that Petroleum Tankers are solely responsible for the gridlock. The Maritime Workers Union should have therefore looked internally before making the outburst that the gridlock in Apapa is solely caused by tankers, when the trailers and trucks the dock workers load and commercial drivers driving recklessly contribute greatly to the menace on the road. The Union therefore appeals to the Federal Government to expedite action on the rehabilitation of the Apapa road, as it will go a long way to ease the congestion on the road. NUPENG also calls on the Lagos State Government and tank farm owners to provide more space for tanker parks to accommodate more tankers. Isaac O. Aberare General Secretary

PRESS RELEASE NUPENG FROWNS AT FRAUDULENT ELECTRICITY BILLS

1. The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is worried and concerned about the high rate of electricity bills passed to consumers by the Distribution Companies known as DISCOS. The union frowns at the exorbitant electricity bills passed to consumers without enjoying the services. The epileptic power supply nation-wide by the new companies known as DISCOS calls for urgent overhaul of the entire system. The Nigerian electricity consumers are being shortchanged, cheated and embarrassed with fraudulent bills when there is no electricity. These fraudulent bills are putting more hardships, especially on the downtrodden masses, who cannot even afford three square meals a day and now have to cough out monies for electricity they don’t get. NUPENG notes that the exploitative attitude of the new DISCOS is injustice, oppressive, uncalled for and not in tune with the energy reforms of the transformation agenda of Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. We are disturbed that with the huge monies budgeted and expended on power generation and distribution, there is still nothing to write home about, except perpetual darkness in many communities in the nooks and crannies of the country, only to be faced with huge bills. NUPENG therefore calls on the National Electricity Regulatory Commission to be alive to its responsibilities by ensuring that the new electricity distribution companies give our citizens light twenty four hours of the day
2. and also ensure that prepaid meters are installed to check arbitrary estimated bills. It is a shame that the National Electricity Regulatory Commission is concerned with only increase in tariffs but must also enforce better service delivery to electricity consumers in the country. The union will join forces with other dis-satisfied Nigerians to make sure that these fraudulent bills are stopped, because we cannot watch citizens of this country been cheated with no light at high cost.                                                                                                                                                                            IGWE ACHESE President

PRESS RELEASE

NUPENG CONGRATULATES NEW IPMAN PRESIDENT

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) congratulates the new President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Obasi Lawson and wish him a successful tenure in office.

The Union expresses its appreciation to the intervention of the Police, the Department of State Security in the resolution of the crisis that hitherto bedeviled the association over its leadership crisis.

The Union states that it will continue to partner and collaborate with the security agencies in making sure that petroleum product are delivered to their destinations.

NUPENG therefore suspend its proposed nationwide strike over the crisis and will ensure smooth delivery of petroleum products to all parts of the country.

The Union stresses that it believes in the rule of law and that is why it demanded that the judgment of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, recognizing Chief Obasi Lawson as the President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association must be respected.

NUPENG therefore wishes the new IPMAN President, Chief Obasi Lawson the best as he pilots the affairs of the association to greater heights and put the necessary machineries in motion to restore credibility to the body.

Isaac O. Aberare

General Secretary

1 PRESS RELEASE NUPENG FROWNS AT FRAUDULENT ELECTRICITY BILLS The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is worried and concerned about the high rate of electricity bills passed to consumers by the Distribution Companies known as DISCOS. The union frowns at the exorbitant electricity bills passed to consumers without enjoying the services. The epileptic power supply nation-wide by the new companies known as DISCOS calls for urgent overhaul of the entire system. The Nigerian electricity consumers are being shortchanged, cheated and embarrassed with fraudulent bills when there is no electricity. These fraudulent bills are putting more hardships, especially on the downtrodden masses, who cannot even afford three square meals a day and now have to cough out monies for electricity they don’t get. NUPENG notes that the exploitative attitude of the new DISCOS is injustice, oppressive, uncalled for and not in tune with the energy reforms of the transformation agenda of Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. We are disturbed that with the huge monies budgeted and expended on power generation and distribution, there is still nothing to write home about, except perpetual darkness in many communities in the nooks and crannies of the country, only to be faced with huge bills. NUPENG therefore calls on the National Electricity Regulatory Commission to be alive to its responsibilities by ensuring that the new electricity distribution companies give our citizens light twenty four hours of the day 2 and also ensure that prepaid meters are installed to check arbitrary estimated bills. It is a shame that the National Electricity Regulatory Commission is concerned with only increase in tariffs but must also enforce better service delivery to electricity consumers in the country. The union will join forces with other dis-satisfied Nigerians to make sure that these fraudulent bills are stopped, because we cannot watch citizens of this country been cheated with no light at high cost. IGWE ACHESE President

UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION IN NIGERIA WORRIES NUPENG

1. The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is worried about the worsening state of unemployment in the country. The Union is concerned about the alarming rate of youth unemployment which is the major cause of the growing insecurity and high crime wave in the country. NUPENG states that the army of unemployed in the country is a time-bomb, waiting to explode any moment from now. It stressed that federal government statistics that only five million Nigerians are unemployed is a fallacy, putting the actual figure at over twenty million considering the turn-out of those joining the unemployment market through redundancies, retrenchments and downsizing facing the economy on a daily basis. The current waves of violence in the North, kidnappings in the South are a result of unemployment in the land. The Union is sad that despite this nagging challenge, Nigeria has been declared as Africa’s largest economy with a rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 150 billion dollars, which is utter balderdash, in an economy that cannot provide the necessary amenities for its citizenry. The Union adds that the federal government must partner with the private sector to open up the economy and this can be achieved through re-industrialisation. The recent power sector reform has come to naught, as the nation is suffering from severe darkness and still generator-driven, which is not helping the economy to grow. The Union calls on the federal government to make the power sector work so that the reliance on generators to drive the economy will be drastically reduced, so that small scale or cottage industries can thrive.
2. The Union wants moribund industries to come on stream, which will go a long way to employ our unemployed workers. The Union also wants more refineries to be established and the existing ones should undergo turn-around- maintenance for effective performance. The Union also wants the rural areas to be fully developed in order to reduce the rural-urban drift. We also advise that government should provide free land and tax holidays to potential investors coming into country.

IGWE ACHESE President

PRESS RELEASE

NUPENG TASKS SECURITY AGENCIES ON MISSING SCHOOL GIRLS

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) is worried and disturbed about the conflicting figures of the missing school girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, in Borno State.

It calls on the security agencies to work in tandem with the Borno State Government, the school authorities to authenticate the actual number of the school girls missing and spread their dragnets to locate them unharmed.

The Union calls the present situation as unacceptable and embarrassing of the inability of the security agencies to locate the whereabouts of the missing school children after over a week of their abduction.

The Union states that the report states that 234 school girls are missing and not 129, which calls for concern and goes to show the inefficiency and failure of the security forces to arrest the Boko Haram scourge.

The Union also condemns the recent attack on another Government Girls Secondary School in Yana, in Bauchi State and commends the Governor for the quick evacuation.

The Union calls for a change of strategy in combating terrorism by applying modern day technology to deal with the situation, as it is done in Israel.   We should call for foreign assistance in dealing with the spate of terrorism in the country.

The Union states that the sponsors of the terrorists must be identified and made to face the wrath of the law, no matter their position in the society.

The Union also wants effective policing of our vast porous borders which serves as a conduit for the hit and run activities.  We also call on the Federal Government to dialogue with our neighbours to see how they can help prevent the marauders from escaping into their countries.

The Union appeals to the conscience of the terrorists to release the innocent school girls unhurt so that they can re-unite with their families.

IGWE ACHESE

President

PRESS RELEASE

NUPENG KICKS AGAINST PRIVATISATION OF REFINERIES

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG), takes serious exception to the comments made by the Honourable Minister of Petroleum resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke that the nation’s refineries must be privatised.

The union states that the Minister’s comments are uncalled for, unnecessary and a mere diversion to the failure of the Ministry to address the perennial problem of scarcity of petroleum products currently being experienced in the country.

NUPENG adds that it will resist any attempt by the federal government to go back on agreement signed with the unions  on January 7, 2014 in Abuja that the nation’s refineries will not be privatised.  In a memorandum of understanding (MOU) reached at that meeting, the two trade unions in the oil and gas sector, NUPENG and PENGASSAN agreed with the Federal Government to engage in social dialogue to develop viable and workable business models for the nation’s refineries.   

The union makes bold to say that billions of naira had been budgeted and purportedly spent on the Turn-Around-Maintenance (TAM) of the refineries with nothing to show for it.

We state that the refineries must be rehabilitated to work optimally which will account for at least seventy percent of domestic production, instead of selling the nation’s strategic assets.  The union states that the Minister should concentrate more on how the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) should be passed so that the oil and gas market will be opened  up to enable investors come and establish more refineries and those already given licenses to come on stream.

It stresses that the quick passage of the PIB will ensure transparency and accountability and boost investors confidence, rather than allowing the current massive importation of petroleum products, which a few cabal are benefitting from at the expense of the nation.

The union believes that the transparency agenda of Mr. President on job creation should be enhanced by allowing interested investors set up private refineries, like the Alhaji Aliko Dangote example in free trade zone in Ondo/Ogun States, which will generate about 85,000 jobs.

We warn that the union will not guarantee industrial peace and harmony if the threat by the Minister to privatise the refineries is carried out by the government, when it should spear head the establishment of mini and mega refineries to complement what we already have and make sure the old ones  are rehabilitated.

The union calls on the National Assembly to quickly pass the Petroleum Industry Bill and call the bluff of the multinationals who are trying to stall its passage for their selfish ends, so that the industry can be sanitised.

Igwe Achese

President