Oil workers warn against hike in electricity tariff

Oil workers have warned the federal government against any hike in electricity tariff.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) said consumers should not be forced to pay for services that are not rendered.

The association said in a communiqué after a national executive council meeting in Lagos weekend that it would not condone any attempt at hiking the current electricity tariffs as it is being contemplated.

Francis Olabode and Lumumba Okugbawa, President and General Secretary respectively said electricity consumers should pay for services rendered, not ‘seem to have been rendered.’

The union insists that tariff can only be hiked when electricity is stable.

It, therefore urged government at all levels to create the enabling environment so that the country’s abundant gas resource can be harnessed to provide investors in the energy sector with ample opportunities to invest in and flourish.

The workers also frowned upon poor funding of federal government agencies in the petroleum industry and urge the government to increase funding for agencies such as Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to help them in discharging of their duties.

PENGASSAN urged the federal government to direct its relevant organs to consider all proposed ways of increasing and generating funds for smooth running of these agencies and commence implementation of the 2015 harmonized CBA template.

The NEC-In-Session vows to confront all industrial issues with utmost seriousness now that the elections are over adding that the union will explore all possible means to ensure no organization undermines any provisions of the country’s laws.

It observes with dismay the attitudes of some organizations such as CISCON, SDF, Petrobras and Sterling oil who are engaged in modern-day enslavement of workers, hence it urges the federal government through the Ministry of Labour and employment to call these organizations to order to avoid an imminent industrial crisis in the sector.