By Moses Patience Chat
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said that the rehabilitation and operation of petroleum refineries in the country is being delayed by the increasing rate of corrupt practices in the system.
Joe Ajaero, who is NLC’s President, stated this during a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) in Lagos, where he expressed his disappointment regarding the government’s inability to rehabilitate the refineries at the expected time. He further expressed his belief that there is a possibility that contractors and government officials are working to intentionally prolong the stipulated time for the repair of the refineries in order to request for more money.
According to him, “we keep hearing about contracts for turnaround maintenance, at the end of the day, nothing is happening due to corruption in the system. I don’t see why contractors are asking for variation when they are not being owed for the contract. Variation in this sense is when the contractors are asking for additional money.”
On his own part, the President of NUPENG, Williams Akporeha, outlined the hitches that the union is facing and pleaded for support from NLC in finding lasting solutions to them.
He also stated that the slow rate of work in repairing the refineries is threatening the jobs of the workers as well as reducing the productivity and growth of the Nigerian petroleum sector.
The Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State, he lamented, is supposed to commence operations this month by the initial plan, “but now we don’t know what is happening.”
In his own words, “the inconsistency is giving us worry, not to talk of other rehabilitation projects that are yet to take off. The reason I bring this to your attention is that the jobs of most of our workers in those areas are being threatened, including those of contract workers.”