allAfrica.com: Nigeria: PPMC, NGC Sale - NNPC Workers Give FG 14-Day Ultimatum (Page 1 of 1)

The two in-house workers' unions representing the 9,000 workforce of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government if within these two weeks the Federal Government does not make a clear statement on the proposed sales of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) and the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC).

From Wednesday next week, all workers of the Corporation nationwide will come to work wearing crimson red dresses as a mark of warning to government.

It would be recalled that recently, the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) announced that the PPMC and NGC are billed for sale next January.

The workers are also asking that the Director General of the BPE, Mrs. Irene Chigbue be immediately removed from office, arguing that her removal would be in the interest of the nation.

The workers accused her of fraudulent sales of government businesses among them the sale of the Eleme Petrochemical Company Limited (EPCL), Port-Harcourt.

In line with the accusation, the two unions then demanded that the Federal Government effect a reversal of the plant sold to Indorama of India in 2005 for $255 million representing 51 per cent but was later raised to 85 per cent at the same price, even when EPCL, according to the workers, was valued at $1.8 billion.

The Group Executive Council (GEC) of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and the Petroleum and Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) of the NNPC who made these demands in Abuja yesterday also asked that the N3.5 billion proceeds made from the sale of the NNPC Pension Funds Limited be paid back to the coffers of the Fund.

The two unions alleged that the money realised from the sales are still locked in a personal account two years after.

Comrade John Elibe, Group Chairman of PENGASSAN also added that his members support government"s policy of the restructuring of the Oil and Gas sector through the revival of the Oil and Gas Implementation Committee (OGIC), which recommendations now forms the Petroleum Industry Bill.

The Bill, among others, seeks to carve all current NNPC subsidiaries into autonomous business entities, among them the PPMC and NGC.

"In view of the anxiety generated by the recent BPE pronouncement, the NNPC house unions hereby seek Federal Government immediate clarification on the policy contradiction between BPE planned action vis-à-vis OGIC report already articulated in the Petroleum Industry Bill now before the National Assembly", he said.

"We want a clear position of government on this contradiction", he said.

"In addition", he went further, "the fraudulent sale of EPCL and the misguided utterances of BPE calculated to offend the sensibilities of NNPC labour force", he went on, "we wish to draw government's attention to the arbitrary sales of the properties of NNPC Pension Fund Limited by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in 2006 in which the proceeds are yet to be credited to our Pension Fund, till date"

He said that the sales benefited only a handful of NNPC pensioners and that proceeds of the transaction is still in someone's Account. He however said that an anti-graft body has been called to look into the matter.

According to him, the workers have agreed to: "Vehemently oppose to the planned sale of PPMC and NGC; that the sale of EPCL be reversed with immediate effect and the DG of BPE be removed from Office in the overall interest of our dear nation".

The Unions gave Federal Government 14 days to meet their demands.

"We did not call you here to joke", he told newsmen, " we believe that between now and 14 days if nothing is being done", he said, "we are going to do what we did in 2007" he said, "we only declared a strike for three days, and, of course, all of you know what the country went through in these three days", he warned.

"We are not going to be satisfied with anyone coming on TV to make some pronouncement. We want concrete actions, especially of the reversal of the sales of EPCL", he said.

On his part, Comrade Ibiba Williams, Group Chairman of NUPENG, NNPC (GEC) accused Indorama of conniving with the BPE to acquire EPCL at grossly undervalued price and for paying only 10% of the amount.

"EPCL was valued at $1.8 billion", said comrade Ibibia, "but the BPE sold 51% the company to Indorama for $255 million. BPE then raised Indorama"s equity to 80% all at $255 million. Even then, the Indians only paid 10% of the bid offer.

They are now using the investment to pay back the rest. If that was there competence then any Nigerian could have acquired the plant. What we are saying is that the sales must be reversed, because it was fraud against the Nigerian people", he said.

As a mark of there seriousness, the two union leaders said that as from Wednesday next week, all NNPC workers across the country will come to work wearing red. And that every morning, there will be prayer session between 8 and 10am."We will be wearing red as a mark of warning of actions to come, if government does nothing tangible after14 days from today", warned comrade Elibe.

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