Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has called on President Bola Tinubu to dissolve the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) if the union continues to pursue what he described as private rather than national interests.
Speaking on Monday during an interview on ARISE Television’s Prime Time, Ndume criticized the union’s decision to embark on a nationwide strike following the dismissal of workers at the Dangote Refinery.
Ndume accused PENGASSAN of overstepping its role by attempting to “impose demands” on the privately owned Dangote Refinery.
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He argued that the association should prioritize the public good.
The Senator said: “This PENGASSAN is supposed to serve the interest of Nigerians, and their profession has to do with petroleum product that affects everything.” He added, “This is Nigeria, which is supposed to be a free country. You can’t force someone to be in the union.”
Ndume further asserted that Dangote is “a private businessman who established a refinery. You can’t come and impose anything on a private individual. If you want to be a union, then stay out of Dangote.”
He alleged the association was holding Nigerians “by the neck” and questioned the workers’ authority over the nation’s oil and gas resources.
He asked: “They are just workers. How can they be asking for more than the owners?”
He also challenged their past inaction: “Where were they when the subsidy was removed and the fuel price rose to N1000? Where were they when the refineries stopped working and we were depending on imports?”
The lawmaker urged the President to take “decisive action” against the union. Ndume stated: “The best thing is for the president to sign an executive order calling them off. He has the right to dissolve them. In this case, I don’t mind if he acts like a dictator because some situations require very drastic measures,” Ndume said.
PENGASSAN had declared a nationwide strike over the sack of 800 employees by Dangote Refinery.
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