By YANGE IKYAA
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has promised to collaborate with the two oil and gas industry unions, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) for industrial harmony and smooth operations in the sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, gave the assurance when the President of PENGASSAN, Mr. Festus Osifo, and that of NUPENG, Mr. Williams Akporeha, paid him a courtesy visit at his office in Abuja on Wednesday.
He stated that the objective of the collaboration was to foster appropriate synergy to enable smooth operations for the sake of the common overiding national interest.
Komolafe reiterated that since his assumption of office, staff welfare has been his cardinal focus and that was the reason why he immediately implemented the promotion of staff who had been stagnated over the years to motivate and promote industrial harmony.
He emphasized that he set up work teams on assumption of office with clear terms of reference to address issues of staff welfare like legacy issues which require redress for the sake of justice and fairness.
He also promised that as part and parcel of the union, he will continue to promote equity in the affairs of the commission and in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The Visiting team, while congratulating the CCE on his appointment, assured him of their readiness to collaborate with the commission in all areas of oil and gas industry operations as a major stakeholder .
They reiterated their belief in dialogue as a means to resolve industrial issues and thanked the CCE for the recent promotion of stagnated staff.