NUPENG, PENGASSAN, Oppose FG’s Plan To Sell Off Critical Assets
By PHC Telegraph
Festus Osifo, President of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, has warned the Federal Government against any plan to sell critical oil assets in the country, saying the proposed sale may not offer appropriate solutions.
Speaking on Primetime Wednesday night, Osifo said PENGASSAN and NUPENG were vehemently opposed to the sale of non performing national assets in the petroleum sector.
Although the union leader did not threaten any strike action, he said there is no doubt that NUPENG and PENGASSAN are strongly determined first of all to protect the interest of their members, particularly in averting job losses as well as the sale of national assets.
Noting that administrations before Tinubu’s stayed away from the sale of national assets, Osifo disclosed that unions in the petroleum industry would not encourage the planned sale.
He warned that if the plan to dispose of any asset is authorised right now, it may lead to the sale of other critical assets in the future by members of the political class.
The unions, he said, are willing to sit at a roundtable with government leaders to discuss a labour driven proposal, which could provide a more resourceful and viable alternative than the sale plan that Tinubu and his economic team are peddling.
Osifo said he and his colleagues were not opposed in any way to plans by the Federal Government to generate additional revenue needed to run the country.
He however stated that rather than contemplate a sell off of such assets, there are more creative ways through which the desire by the present administration to promote efficiency, reduce waste and also ensure appropriate returns on investments can be achieved.
There has been a growing debate over the state of Nigeria’s refineries which have gulped millions of dollars without attaining optimal production status.
Many, including the Tinubu administration described funds pumped into resuscitating them as a waste of scarce resources.
Nigerians are pained that despite promises that they will come on stream, not much has happened to justify collosal sums spent on them.
A great majority of Nigerians say these refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna are not working.
Tuesday, Osifo who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today remarked, “I’m an engineer of over 20 years standing, and I understand how mechanics work.
“So I know a system that is working, and I know a system that doesn’t work. I listened to a programme that said the refinery never worked. It’s not correct, the refinery worked.”