Nigeria: Crisis – Oil Workers Threaten Pull-Out From Niger Delta

A major crisis loomed in the nation’s oil and gas industry yesterday as senior workers threatened to withdraw from the Niger Delta if the current spate of killings in the region continues.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) which issued the threat also charged the Federal Government to summon enough political will to tackle increasing violence in the region.

Speaking in the same vein, Rivers State government urged the security agencies to address illegal oil bunkering and the activities of cult and militant gangs in the state.
However in Port Harcourt, the state capital, security was beefed up as operatives of the Joint Military Task Force were seen patrolling the major streets.

PENGASSAN in a statement signed by Peter Esele and Bayo Olowoshile its president and general secretary respectively said: “If the restiveness and consequent harassment and violence on workers in the oil and gas industry persist, we shall not hesitate to withdraw our members in the various oil and gas companies operating in the region.”

The union called for sanctions against traditional rulers, local government chairmen and governors in whose communities militants’ activities thrive.

allAfrica