…calls on stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to deliberate so as to meet the demands of the Niger Delta region.
Gladys Nweke
Following threats made by Niger Delta militants to end their ceasefire and resume hostilities over the inabilities of oil multinationals to relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has called on the agitators to embrace dialogue.
PENGASSAN also called on stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to meet and deliberate so as to meet the demands of the Niger Delta region.
PENGASSAN’S calls came two days after a Coalition of the Niger Delta Agitators, a frontline militant group in the region, asked the IOCs to stay away from oil platforms and other installations from December 2018 should they fail to relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta.
The coalition also threatened to resume attacks on oil facilities over President Buhari’s refusal to sign the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill into law.
They also chided the presidency over the raid on the Abuja home of the Niger Delta statesman, Edwin Clark.
However, PENGASSAN’s president, Johnson Olabode, during the groundbreaking ceremony of its multipurpose learning, event and resource centre in Rumuodumaya in Obio/Akpor Local government area, urged the Federal Government to address the issues raised by the militants for peace to reign so as to create an enabling environment for the investors and expatriates.
According to him: “All IOCs operating in this country have offices here (Niger Delta), but relocating their corporate headquarters also depends on the collaboration of the government because definitely, they need land, they need resources and they need some waivers to do that.
“Everybody must work together but not by threats. For the agitators, we want to appeal to them that they should not return to the creeks. For now, oil is our only major source of revenue.
“We also need to appeal to the government that whatever that is the demand of the region, whatever they can do to make the place conducive and ensure that the relocation should be a successful one, they should please help and do so for the benefit of the region.
On his part, the Port Harcourt zonal chairman of PENGASSAN, comrade Azubuike M. Azubuike, stated that another milestone in the history of the association and the significance of the association is the ability of the association’s leadership to forecast the future of the association and prepare for it.
According to him, one of such preparations is the investment in infrastructural facilities.
He also insisted that the choice of venue stems from the fact that Port Harcourt is the hub of oil and gas activities and that the land is easily accessible from all parts of Rivers State, the environment is serene and inhabitants are very friendly.
The Zonal chairman stressed that the leadership of the association has embarked on the herculean project, noting that the Learning/Event Centre shall comprise of Offices for Zonal Secretariat, a well-equipped learning Hall and Event Hall with the capacity of over 200 persons.
Azubuike added that it is expected that it can be used for weddings, training, seminars, meetings, traditional events and also serve as a great alternative source of income for the association.
Comrade Azubuike noted that the influence of the association cuts across all sectors of the economy and can be felt in the enforcement and implementation of local content laws, minimum wage, passage of Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB), stabilization of oil prices, construction of better roads, and environmental protection, saying they were achieved through comradeship, pragmatism, courage, resilience and altruism.
