Mohammed Shosanya
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior, Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned against armtwist implementation of Petroleum Industry Act,PIA,saying its members will vehemently oppose such act.
President of PENGASSAN,Comrade Festus Osifo,said this on Thursday at its 7th Triennial National Delegates’ Conference NDC 2023 which held in Abuja with the theme: ‘Equity and Social Justice; Advocacy for Equal Opportunities for all Workers’.
He suggested that the Host Community Development Fund and Trust should be immediately constituted.
He implored the incoming administration to
fast track the implementation of different sections of the Petroleum Industry Act to the benefit of Nigerians.
He added:”As the new government comes in, we implore them to fast track the implementation of different sections of the Act to the benefit of Nigerians. The provision of the Act that will further deepen the development of the midstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry should be aggressively implemented. This will lead to the provision of gas infrastructure that will in turn aid gas development and help in harnessing the vast gas reserves in the country.
He expressed excitement over the current rehabilitation going on in refineries, most especially the Port Harcourt Refinery.
“Members of our Association are quite happy with the current rehabilitation going on in our refinery today most especially the Port Harcourt Refinery. We commend the current NNPC management led by Mallam Mele Kyari OFR for the bold steps towards a workable approach to bringing back on stream the ailing refineries and effort to putin place the Operations & Maintenance Strategy that may eventually bring about the desired change in operations model of the refineries.
“We will also continue to advocate for the adoption of the NLNG model in the running of the nation’s four refineries when fully revamped and the creation of an enabling environment for the establishment and operation of modular and private Refineries. We are happy that the current NNPC led Management is favorably disposed to such. With the Dangote refinery, there will be a significant impact on the fuel supply dynamics, including easing pressure on the economy, especially when combined with the ongoing revamping of the three refineries in the country.
“The incoming government must do all within its reach to see to the conclusion of the current rehabilitation effort and initiatives that is currently in place so that our nation’s refinery will come up in no time.
“Our Association pledge to continue to lend its voice and support to policies that would put the Nation’s Oil and Gas sector in good shape to enable it compete with its: peers in other parts of the world. We welcome the bold move by operators of Dangote Refinery coming on stream soon and hope that its addition will enhance loca production, reduce products importation as well as end the era of uncertainties in petroleum products pricing and evils of subsidy payment”.
He also noted that the current state of the nation’s economy is of deep concern to the association.
He PENGASSAN expected to see steady growth in Gross Domestic Product, increase access to employment for the country’s teeming population and diversification of the economy but unfortunately, all that had been witnessed are poor implementation of both fiscal and monetary policies.
He added that policy inconsistencies have continued to militate against Nigeria’s projected growth and development as a nation.
