Oil workers under the aegis of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) yesterday gave the Federal Govern-ment a 21-day notice to reverse its decision on deregulation and the planned privatisation of refineries or face industrial action.
The threat of strike by oil workers came just as indications emerged that the meeting between government and labour leaders was postponed to make way for a more inclusive dialogue to be coordinated by the Presidential Steering Com-mittee on Global Economic Crisis.
But the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) has faulted the full deregulation of the downstream sector by the Federal Government, saying the removal of the subsidy, which is a component of the policy, should have been gradual rather than abrupt.
PENGASSAN and NUPENG, in a joint National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja yesterday, also condemned the incessant cases of kidnapping of its members in the Niger Delta.
A communiqué jointly signed by Babatunde Ogun and Bayo Olowoshile of PENGASSAN, and Peter Akpatason and Elijah Okougbo of NUPENG, said: “The joint NEC in session unequivocally condemned and rejected the recent government hasty pronouncement on the total deregulation and planned privatization of the nation refineries, NGC and PPMC’s through unilateral and executive fiat.
“The joint NEC in session agreed that the Federal Government be put on notice that at the end of 21-day ultimatum beginning from Tuesday 3rd March 2009, all oil and gas workers are to commence a three-day comprehensive and symbolic warning strike action.”
The NEC also demanded the urgent passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law, and asked government to implement the approved Oil and Gas Implementation Committee (OGIC) report by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The workers called for adequate security in the Niger Delta, through aerial surveillance proactive measure to stem the tide of violence in the region.
The scheduled meeting between labour leaders and officials of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources could not come up yesterday because of government’s decision to convene a more inclusive stakeholders parley which will be held under the auspices of the Presidential Steering Committee on the Global Economic Crisis.
Indications to this effect emerged when the meeting was suddenly called-off shortly after the leadership of the various unions, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the two sister oil sector unions, NUPENG and PENGASSAN arrived the NNPC Towers venue of the meeting.
THISDAY also gathered that the postponement of the talks may also be to enable government make more consultations among the stakeholders and to allow the burning anger of labour movements to simmer down before bringing the matter for discussion.
NLC, however, met and scheduled a meeting of its expanded National Executive Council (NEC) to hold Wednesday next week to deliberate on the new policy action of the Federal Government with respect to the full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector.
Following the sudden postponement of the talks, NLC went in for a closed-door discussion with the leadership of the TUC at the Labour House.
In a three-paragraph statement signed by the General Secretary of NLC, Mr. John Odah, it said the Congress had decided to fix a meeting of its NEC, involving all its branches in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to articulate a comprehensive response to the government position.
“The agenda at the meeting will be the State of the Nation with focus on the proposed deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry and sale of refineries, among other national issues,” it said.
Also yesterday, the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) canvassed that the privatisation of the nation's refineries, which another component of the policy, should be done through open, competitive and transparent process.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, said at a press conference in Abuja, that the issue should have been handled with caution since it affects a sensitive aspect of the people’s lives.
According to Paulker, “The central responsibility of any government is to improve the welfare of the citizen. Therefore any policy on regulation or deregulation should be carefully crafted and targeted at fulfilling this responsibility.
“Our opinion is that we have to go with the global tradition and best practices in the sourcing, distribution and sale of petroleum products by allowing market forces to prevail in a well-supervised and legally enriched operational environment.
“It is therefore imperative that any policy of the government affecting this sensitive aspect of our lives should be handled with caution.”
Paulker stated that it was apparent that the deregulation policy was based on the recommendation of the Presidential Steering Committee on the Global Financial Crisis.
He said: “The government has explained that the policy is geared toward improving efficiency in the refining, sourcing and distribution of petroleum products.
“Already, another committee has been set up by the Federal Government to draw up a programme for the implementation of the policy.”
On the removal of subsidy, he said the Committee believed that the government would have been compelled by the unsustainable fiscal burden involved in subsidising petroleum products to the tune of N640 billion in a single year.
“It was obvious that the government could not bear that burden endlessly. We have always believed that subsidy should be removed, although not in the abrupt way in which it has been done but through a gradual phasing-out process.
“The preference for this gradual process is based on the fact that there are elements different from the price of crude in the international market that add to the overall cost of petroleum products. These elements include:  freight charges, port charges, cost of insurance, cost of bridging,” he stated.
He added, “If these cost elements are eliminated or reduced, there will be a reduction in the amount required for subsidy, if there would still be need for subsidy at all.
“We are therefore calling on the government to implement a phased deregulation exercise. And while that exercise is in progress, the government should adopt intermediate measures to tackle those foregoing elements that add to cost.
“For example, if the refineries are all functioning optimally, freight charges and port charges would be eliminated. Also, if we fix the pipelines that make up our distribution network and build new ones, the enormous cost incurred through haulage by trucks would fall, thereby contributing to reduction in the pump price of petroleum products.
“All this will simply result in a less prohibitive and more affordable pump price when the phased deregulation exercise is concluded.
“However, our concern with the approach of the government to the matter is that proper consultation was not done.
“If government had done adequate and proper consultation among stakeholders, the policy direction could have been better appreciated, the merits and demerits of the deregulation having been exhaustively discussed in a free atmosphere.
“There has been belated effort at consultation, but even this could be hampered by statements emanating from the government indicating that its position is non-negotiable. There is need for caution and consistency in order not to send wrong signals to the public.
“We therefore call on all stakeholders to thread with caution and avoid taking rigid positions in this obviously sensitive matter, as dialogue remains the only option for arriving at a resolution.
“It is pertinent to say that, at this moment when the Petroleum Industry Bill is before the National Assembly, certain actions on the part of government relating to the petroleum industry are capable of causing a mix-up in the appreciation of the direction the government is taking. Some government measures would seem to be pre-empting the Bill, and that should be avoided.”
On the privatisation component of the policy, Paulker explained that the intention of the government to privatise the refineries did not come as a surprise to the Committee.
He explained further, “These refineries are national assets that have high capacity to address our need for refined petroleum products, but they hardly produce anything in spite of huge government investment.”
“Instead of contributing to the growth of the economy, they have become a setback. If we have to take advantage of their capacity, a new management system has to be adopted.   
“And this could mean divesting the government of its ownership and allowing competent private organisations to take over. So we are not against the privatisation of the refineries. What we need is that those refineries should start producing at optimal level.   
“However, government should avoid any action that would amount to a repeat of the mistake of the last administration, which caused this administration to reverse the previous privatisation. The privatisation should be done through an open, competitive and transparent process. 
“Government should also create an environment that is more conducive and more attractive for the establishment of private refineries, so we can increase our refining capacity and rely less on importation.”


Source: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=137111















^^ Parasitical creatures. Vermin!!! Fire them all.