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Fuel Scarcity Looms as NUPENG, NNPC Meeting Ends in Deadlock
The meeting called by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers in Lagos over the seven-day ultimatum issued the Federal Government by NUPENG ended in a deadlock on Thursday.
NUPENG had asked the Federal Government to compel Chevron Nigeria Limited to honour the agreement it reached with the union on June 20, 2019.
The union said its members would embark on strike if the agreement was not respected within seven days.
After the union threatened industrial action, the NNPC quickly intervened and called for a meeting between the union leaders and other stakeholders in the matter.
NUPENG President, Williams Akporeha, told our correspondent on the telephone after the meeting that parties involved would reconvene on Friday (today) because no agreement was reached on Thursday.
Akporeha said, “We have ended today’s (Thursday) meeting but we have not agreed on any resolution. We are reconvening again tomorrow (today). What this means is that the seven-day ultimatum we issued on Wednesday is still subsisting because nothing has changed.”
A statement on Wednesday by Akporeha and the General Secretary of NUPENG, Afolabi Olawale, on the ultimatum stated, “NUPENG, with deep frustration and worries, would like to alert the general public and all relevant authorities to the blatant violation of agreement reached between Chevron Nigeria Limited and unions in the industry.
“It is public knowledge that unions in the oil and gas industry had a protracted negotiation with Chevron Nigeria Limited over 70 per cent labour manpower reduction which it (Chevron) claimed was required in view of reduction in their operations in the oil and gas Industry.
“After up to one year negotiation, brokered by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, National Petroleum Investment Management Services and the Ministry of Labour, it was agreed that considering the intervention of all the institutions mentioned above and the various justifications made, only 30 per cent of the labour manpower contract workers will be relieved.”
The union added, “Of the 1,856 contract workers in the company, NUPENG has 1,120; PENGASSAN, 213; and non-unionised, 523. It was agreed that the 30 per cent reduction shall be spread in equal percentage among the three groups. It was also agreed that the union executives (NUPENG and PENGASSAN) will not be affected by the reduction, that Chevron Nigeria Limited will not in any guise change the labour manpower to service contracts.
“Unfortunately, immediately after the agreement was reached, Chevron started executing the exercise in blatant violation of the agreed terms, ostensibly to either put NUPENG in a bad light as troublesome or for extinction because only NUPENG members have been exited from work, leaving behind the non-unionised workers and PENGASSAN members.
“From our record, over 500 of NUPENG members are being sacked. Having been pushed to the wall, NUPENG, hereby, puts all our members on red alert should Chevron Nigeria Limited and its contractors fail to honour or comply with our demands within the next seven days, we would also not hesitate to take all necessary legal options available to us, including industrial action, to press home our legitimate demands.”
The Punch
Commissioner of Police, CP Olajide Rufus Ibitoye, acting on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, through the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Force Intelligence Department (FID) Abuja, has extended an invitation to the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, for an “investigative meeting with regards to an incident that occurred during the Sallah celebration within your domain”.
The said incident is in connection with the violence that broke out during the recent Eid-el-Fitr procession in Kano, which resulted in the death of a local vigilante member.
The incident happened as the Emir’s entourage moved from the Eid prayer ground to the palace in a traditional procession. The clash, which marred the otherwise peaceful celebration, led to the tragic loss of life of a vigilante member, Surajo Rabiu, and left one other injured.
The invitation was conveyed in an official letter dated April 4, 2025, and signed by Commissioner of Police, CP Olajide Rufus Ibitoye, on behalf of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Force Intelligence Department (FID) Abuja.
The letter reads: “I have the directives of the Inspector General of Police, through the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), to invite you for an investigative meeting with regards to an incident that occurred during the Sallah celebration within your domain.”
The Emir has been requested to appear before the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja, opposite the Police Headquarters, Area 11, by 10:00am on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
This development comes amid heightened tensions in Kano State following the earlier decision by the State Police Command to ban the annual Durbar festival due to security concerns. The ban, announced days before the Eid-el-Fitr celebration, was intended to prevent any possible breakdown of law and order during the festive period.
However, despite the suspension of the Durbar, a motorcade procession of Emir Sanusi II still took place on the third day of the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.
The Kano State Police Commissioner, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, had also inaugurated an eight-member Special Investigation Panel (SIP) to investigate the violence.
As at the time of this report, there has been no official response from the Emir Sanusi II’s palace regarding the Police invitation.
Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the political adviser to President Bola Tinubu, has resigned his appointment.
Reports say the former spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) tendered his resignation about two weeks ago.
Further reports quoting presidency sources did not, however, provide details of the reasons for his decision, but only stated that it was on personal grounds.
Baba-Ahmed was appointed in September 2023 as Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Office of Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Over the past 17 months, he had represented the presidency at several public fora, including a recent national conference themed: “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity”, which held from January 28 and 29, 2025 in Abuja.
The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a unanimous judgment, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the Labour Party, after finding out earlier that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
The apex court held that the issue of leadership was an internal affair of a party, over which courts lacks jurisdiction.
The court further allowed the appeal filed by Senator Nenadi Usman and one other, and held that it is meritorious.
It also proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure group of the Labour Party for being unmeritorious.
In January, the Court of Appeal in Abuja reiterated that Abure remained the chairman of the LP.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Hamma Barka, held that its judgment of November 13, 2024, which recognises Abure as national chairman, subsists and has not been set aside by any court.
Justice Barka made the declaration while delivering judgment in two separate appeals filed by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman and the caretaker committee and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The appellate court in the two separate appeals held that it did not delve into the issue of the leadership of the Labour Party because such issues are not justiciable.
It said that anything done outside jurisdiction amounts to a nullity. Hence, the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on October 8, 2024, by Justice Emeka Nwite is of no effect because it was delivered without jurisdiction.
