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Force Can't Resolve Niger Delta Crisis - Masari

This Day (Lagos)
NEWS
August 16, 2003
Posted to the web August 17, 2003

By Ahamefula Ogbu
Abuja
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, has warned
that there is no amount of force that can solve the restiveness in the Niger
Delta until the fundamental issues, especially poverty ravaging the region, has
been addressed.
Masari made the observation yesterday in Abuja when the Petroleum and Natural
Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) paid him a courtesy call.
He regretted that while the oil companies in the area post huge profits, the
neighborhood from where the resources were taken languish in abject poverty, an
issue he said must be addressed for the return of peace to the area.
To turn things around from the legislative angle, he said the House would visit
laws establishing the Nige-rian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other
oil companies with a view to taking wholistic approach to their review.
In doing that, he said, the general public on whom the law resides would have
to contribute their own quota so that all interests would have been covered in
whatever amendments there would be.
Also yesterday, he said that as a way of shoring up the value of the naira,
importation of all non-essential items and petroleum products should be stopped
while he would invite major operators in the oil sector to discuss the fears
raised by PENGASSAN in the paper they presented to him.
Earlier, President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Brown Ogbeifun who said they visited
the Speaker to acquaint him with the imminent labour crisis in the oil industry
for which he solicited the intervention of the Legis-lators.
He said the move by Nigeria's Joint Venture partners to domicile system servers
called Exploration and Production Globlisation in their home offices whereby
information on the oil sector is stored and accessed from Nigeria when needed
is unacceptable.
The Association said this system is akin to losing sovereignty on oil
information to the multinational companies.
According them, a careful analysis of the scheme shows that it will not be in
the interest of Nigeria as the consequences far outweigh the canvassed
benefits, These include capital flight, reduction of Nigerian staff strength in
the sector and venture as well as ensuring marginalisation of Nigerian
Directors to stall skill transfers drive.
Other draw backs of the scheme, they continued include the lack of transparency
in oil deals and the shielding of intelligence information on the country's
hydrocarbon potentials.
They also complained of the use of expatriates for jobs where there qualified
Nigerians, irregular and unwarranted easing off of Nigerians from their jobs on
account of redundancy as well as casualisation and contract staffing as part of
their grouses.
Ogbeifun appealed to the House to review labour related laws of the country so
that the interest of Nigerian workers would be protected. Part of their
requests were the reinstatement of the 23 sacked staff of the Port Harcourt
refinery, repair of the Nation's refineries to stem capital flight due to
importation of petroleum products which they said cause capital flight and
resolution of the Niger Delta crisis.
It should be recalled that PENGASSAN has given the NNPC, which is the manager
of the Joint Ventures, a 30-day ultimatum that expires Tuesday next week and
vowed to go-ahead with the strike intended to paralyse not only the oil sector
but also the entire country.

   

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