The federal government has said a policy on the operations of artisanal refineries in the country would soon be unveiled.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Eta Enang, explained that the policy would guide the ownership as well as regulate the operations of artisanal refineries in the country.
“We are still working on the policy that will regulate the operations of artisanal refineries in the Niger Delta. It will soon start” he said.
Besides, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has also said it was embarking on cut-cutting measures aimed at delivering optimum returns on its investment beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking in Abuja at the inauguration of Francis Olabode Johnson Foundation, the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Mele Kyari ruled out mass sack in NNPC on account of COVID-19.
His words: “As we all know that the global oil and gas industry is going through complex transitions that require our collective resilience to survive. The global business landscape is fast changing to accommodate the new normal advanced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the associated business global space, there are many things that will never come back to normal, as we know them. This, of course, has an impact on everything including the oil industry.
Enang, who described the late PENGASSAN President, Olabode Johnson as a reliable and practical labour union leader before his death two years ago, also described the insecurity situation in the country as ‘getting too hot’.
“Things are getting too hot. This is not the Nigeria we thought would be. Please, Nigerians come to the table to discuss whatever are our differences. We would never resolve this with the barrels of the gun. I would like to tell Nigerian leaders that the youths are not looking for accommodation, but for rights to participate.”
On his part, the Executive Secretary of Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board, Ahmed Bobboi, lauded Johnson for running PENGASSAN in a selfless manner and showing uncommon leadership skill, which is rare to find within the labour movement and Nigeria as a country.
He argued that the collapse of quality teaching at the primary school level, as well as the collapse of local government administration is responsible for the leadership challenge confronting the country.
He explained: “There is a leadership challenge in Nigeria. I think Nigeria gets it wrong from the base, which is the primary schools and local government administration levels. I think we need to focus very seriously on grooming our leaders right from the beginning, which is the kindergarten level,” he said.
