By The Eagle Online

Copyright theeagleonline

What is happening at the Dangote Refinery is beyond the ordinary, it is beyond unionism as pointed out. First it was Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), then Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), followed by the National of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), and now Petroleum and Natural Gas Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). At last, we are getting closer to unveiling the real masquerade.

NNPCL fought this enterprise, Dangote Refinery, tooth and nail over pricing, currency of crude purchase, distribution, and pump pricing, among others.

All these aggregated issues are just because Dangote has shown that things can work in this country, refineries can work in this country and NNPC cannot fix our three refineries in more than 30 years after swallowing trillions, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is trying so hard to recover with Mele Kyari, the immediate past MD, as the principal suspect. After the presidential intervention, somehow the NNPC hawks sheathed their swords momentarily but changed their tactics and Kyari lost his job eventually. At some point, they forced Dangote to import his crude oil from outside the country and in dollars, which makes the pump price high because he imports in dollars, until the Federal Government directed that NNPCL should accept naira as the currency of purchase of crude from Dangote.

The Nigeria Labour Congress were the next undertakers. Dangote Refinery recruited some security guards from Katsina State. It is common knowledge that people from the North are known for their patience, resilience, and resistance to fatigue as security guards (informally), which earns them the derogatory name “Musa” or “Aboki” from people from the South. Suddenly, on arrival in Lagos, the state NLC raised an alarm that Dangote Refinery was recruiting people from the North to take over their jobs in Lagos State. Later they said Dangote was importing bandits from the North into Lagos State to protect his refinery, unknown to them the Nigeria Police, the DSS (Department of State Services), the NSCDC (Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps) all were aware of the recruitment of these security guards and they were all profiled and screened.

Meanwhile, in Gombe State in Ashaka Cement, the majority of senior and middle-class workers are from the South West, but the people of Funakaye or Gombe State NLC did not complain as the owners and majority shareholders are from the South West.

Next, NUPENG came calling over unionism and threatened Dangote Refinery with industrial action. Again the Federal Government intervention through the Federal Ministry of Labour did not yield results and the DSS as usual took over the matter and brokered a fragile truce. NUPENG then accused Dangote of breaching the peace process.

Suddenly the big brother was recruited as the obstacles being assembled against a peaceful business flow of a private enterprise continued to grow. Dangote, who is also working in the interest of Nigerians by occasionally reviewing pump prices for Nigerian consumers as factors of production permit, faced a new challenge. PENGASSAN emerged. They are now the newest undertakers.

Femi Otedola, Dangote’s friend and owner of Forte Oil (formerly African Petroleum), has spoken about how about two trillion was siphoned from our depots through a coordinated collaboration with the unions in the sector and other stakeholders. Till now no one has come out to contradict Otedola.

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Another issue, according to Dangote, is that these unions collect N50,000 per truck that loads product from the depots. According to Dangote, this ultimately is transferred to the eventual pump price at filling stations on Nigerians. This is wicked. Imagine 2000 trucks in a month?

NUPENG and PENGASSAN unions are the prime suspects in the destruction, corruption, mismanagement and any prejudice and economic theory failure in the oil industry in Nigeria. Imagine they never over the years protested or raised alarm or concern over the state of our refineries but suddenly they are now recruited by domestic and international forces to destroy a private enterprise that is the biggest in the world.

Dangote has taken the bold decision to sack over 900 local staff and members of PENGASSAN. Let PENGASSAN go and find jobs for them elsewhere. I cannot marry a wife, pay her bride price, bring her to my house then someone wants to come and enjoy her with me. It is not possible. PENGASSAN and NUPENG should go and find food for the families of those sacked or go and fix the public refineries and give their members jobs.

I understand that some international conspirators are sponsoring these industrial problems against Dangote Refinery as most African countries now buy their petroleum products from Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, so the only way is to destabilise the refinery. Forces of evil both offshore and onshore are out to cripple Dangote Refinery but by the grace of God, success will not be achieved.

. Gombe shared this on his Facebook page.