Legendary journalist and former presidential aide, Dr. Reuben Abati, has taken a swipe at the President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, over the union’s ongoing dispute with the Dangote Refinery.
During Tuesday’s edition of The Morning Show on Arise Television, Abati faulted Osifo for evading public scrutiny, accusing him of avoiding accountability. According to Abati, the labour leader “chickened out” after failing to appear on the programme to address key questions surrounding the standoff between PENGASSAN and the refinery.
Abati drew attention to comments made by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 31st Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) meeting, where Shettima hailed Aliko Dangote as a patriot and described the Dangote Refinery as a vital national asset and major source of employment.
He also referred to the position of Bayo Ojulari, the CEO of NNPC Limited, who claimed that the country lost 600,000 barrels of crude oil as a result of the actions of PENGASSAN under Osifo’s leadership.
The broadcaster went on to accuse some labour leaders of prioritizing personal gain over the genuine protection of workers’ welfare. He said the current crop of union executives has lost credibility and moral authority.
Abati challenged Osifo to honour his earlier invitation and appear on the show to respond to the allegations and clear his name regarding the controversy with the Dangote Refinery.
Abati said:“In my view, Vice President Kashim Shettima was speaking yesterday on behalf of the President at the Nigeria Economic Summit Group meeting number 31.
“And part of his speech, it was a lot, he talked about the achievements of the administration. What is being done with revenue, generation, taxation, job creation, but the aspect of it that has been extracted for public interest is where he spoke about Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the Dangote refinery.
“He made the point that if Dangote, who decided to set up a $20 billion refinery in Nigeria, had chosen to take even just $10 billion to Amazon or, you know, all of the successful companies, Google and all of that, he will be making better profit.
“In other words, this was the most righteous statement from the government side, saying that, look, Alijah Aliko Dangote is indeed a patriot, and it’s an example that should be followed.
“The Vice President, speaking on behalf of the President, went further and said that, in fact, the Alhaji Dangote is an institution. It’s not just an individual.
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“The Vice President made it clear that, look, this Dangote refinery that you are complaining about is creating jobs, and one of the ways in which the government can proceed progress is to create jobs and give opportunities to people.
“Now this same labour unions, Bayo Ojulari, the CEO of the NNPC limited, made the point that Nigeria lost 600,000 barrels of crude oil because of PENGASSAN, because of Festus Osifo leading his men to sabotage Nigeria.
“Festus Osifo was supposed to come on this program yesterday. We would have asked him questions, but he chickened out. He chickened out. He should have come here. We will have asked him critical questions.
“The problem, part of the problem we have is about labour leadership in this country, namely, that we have labour leaders who are there for personal gains. They will talk 12 to a dozen, nine to a dozen in the public arena, but in the night, they will go and beg the same people that they are criticizing.
“Labour unionism should not be about nocturnal opportunism. It should be about what they actually do in defense of people’s rights. If we say most of the things that people are saying about labor unionism in this country, there will be very serious problems.
“Even comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who is their leader, came here and said that what they are doing under this new dispensation in terms of leadership is not right. We hope Festus Osifo will make himself available to come and address some of these issues.”