The leaders of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) have commended the Federal Government’s commencement of crude oil search in the Kolmani Well River-II, located near Barambu, Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
According to a joint statement by the PENGASSAN president, Comrade Francis Johnson and NUPENG’s
Comrade Williams Akporeha, this milestone recorded by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari was a reflection of his government’s resolve and commitment to grow Nigeria’s economy, boost capacity and provide energy sufficiency, strengthen Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
“Certainly, this initiative will go a long way in galvanising the current government’s national drive for jobs creation, youth empowerment and human capital development,” the unions said.
The two unions added that they equally found it worthy to extend commendations to the minister of state for petroleum resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the group managing director, of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, and their entire team for making February 2, 2019, epochal in the annals of Nigeria, noting that posterity would judge them kindly for being part of this major and significant breakthrough in the country.
The statement read further: “The untiring and fantastic efforts of our irrepressible members to the realisation of the noble dream are also highly commendable and we praise their uncommon contributions to the growth and development of our dear country.
“There is no iota of doubt in our minds that Nigerian workers have capacity and ability to deliver even much more than their counterparts in other climes, when given the right tools and right working environment/conditions to do so.”
The unions, as key stakeholders in the industry, appealed to the Buhari administration to accelerate the final executive assent to the entire Petroleum Industry Bill.
It said, “In this bill, roles and accountability are better clarified, governance and transparency strengthened and inefficiency, maladministration, corruption and secrecy are accordingly tackled; these are quite important and must be upheld.
“We further believe that, when passed, it would end unnecessary political interference in the sector and optimise value chain in the upstream, midstream and downstream of the petroleum industry, and as well separate the roles of the policymaker from the regulator and from the commercial institutions.
“This historic flag-off is without doubt a full demonstration of Nigerians’ resilience, doggedness and determination, and the entire productive oil and gas workers are very proud of this great achievement and we promise to keep raising the bar with other committed stakeholders.”
SOURCE: sunnewsonline.com