Tunju Wusu –
The Nigerian Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), together with employees of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), have joined the ongoing demonstration in Port Harcourt against the commission’s CEO.
The personnel of NUPRC, formerly known as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), has been picketing and barricading Commission offices around the country since Monday in an effort to get the Chief Executive, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, fired for alleged fraud and abuse of power.
The NUPRC boss allegedly purposefully shut down channels of communication for two years during which time there were complaints regarding inadequate management of the commission and personnel welfare.
To clear the way for an immediate forensic audit of all contract processes and payments made by the Commission while he was in charge, the demonstrators demanded that President Bola Tinubu fire Komolafe or compel him to retire.
The NUPRC workforce in Port Harcourt, meanwhile, was seen carrying banners and placards with messages like “Engr. Gbenga Komolafe must go” and “Allow NUPRC staff to breathe,” and they have been picketing the entrance of the NUPRC headquarters since Monday.
Dr. Ifeanyi Eze, the National Industrial Relation Officer of PENGASSAN, who joined the demonstrators in Port Harcourt, spoke to newsmen and emphasized the need for immediate action to address the problems afflicting NUPRC workers. He also issued a warning that the protest would not end until their demands were satisfied.
Eze claims that some of their complaints involve the nonpayment of pension deductions, cooperative deductions, medical retainer-ships, the ongoing underpayment of cleaners and drivers, a lack of adequate work tools, the unpaid medical bills of the staff, the nonpayment of outsourced workers, and other issues.
The NUPRC office in Port Harcourt has been without electricity for the past two months, he claimed. Then, there is no water supply at the NUPRC Lagos office, and the elevators are broken in the Abuja office.
In addition to this, other events have been occurring due to the non-refund of medical expenses that were agreed upon in workers’ collective bargaining agreements. Due to the deduction and non-remittance of pensions, there are several inefficiencies and shortcomings.
You are aware that NUPRC, formerly DPR, is a regulator of the oil and gas sector. What will happen to the companies that NUPRC is charged with overseeing if the regulator, the Commission, cannot correct itself?
“So we are saying that Komolafe shouldn’t be there because there are many people in this country who can execute the job well. That is where we are. The Branch, the Zone, and the National all take this stance.
“I am aware that there have been requests for interaction at various levels in Abuja, but until we receive something substantial or until all of our demands are met, we will not relent.
As you know, we are in charge of the locations where Nigeria’s crude is being lifted. Without our efforts, crude cannot be lifted, so we are pained that we do a very sensitive job, and we are being toyed with, said PENGASSAN on behalf of NUPRC staff. “If they push us to the wall, we may be forced to escalate this peaceful demonstration,” PENGASSAN said.
