The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned that the rising insecurity in the Port Harcourt zone, if not curtailed, may have a devastating effect on the socio-economic well-being of the nation.
The warning came from the Port Harcourt zone of PENGASSAN, who stated that the states in the zone which include oil and gas producing states in the country such as Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states are seriously under one form of security threats or the other.
According to the union, the negative development is a bad call to any meaningful development, especially with the commencement of the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery valued at $1.5 billion.
PENGASSAN added that the zone also accounts for a large chunk of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, representing about 85 per cent of government revenues; adding that “the total revenue flow to the federation, other tiers of government and sub-national entities from all sources (including crude oil sales, taxes, royalties and other incomes) came to $32.6 billion in 2018.”
A position paper signed by Comrade Peter Chukwudi Onita, PENGASSAN Port Harcourt Zonal Chairman, said: “As the zone with the resources, we, therefore, warn that the current state of affairs in kidnapping for ransom, attacks on security agencies especially the Nigeria Police and the rise of militia and ragtag armies, if allowed to persist, may have dire consequences and threats to food and economic security as well as lives of the citizens of not only the states under the zone but to the entire nation.
“Consequently, as the zone with the highest conglomerates and individual key players in the oil and gas sector, we demand that the states should be empowered with the necessary legislations that will enable it to take charge of security issues in its domain.
“The era of centralized policing should be done away with locals and communities allowed to own and operate arms carrying personal to protect the huge investments in the oil and gas.”
“We also call on investors and management in the oil and gas to disregard the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in the sector and safeguard the workers in the industry against COVID-19 instigated redundancies, wage reduction and arbitrary dismissal.
“Rather, encouragement should be focused on opening new frontiers that will harness the abundant natural gas resources in the zone, the ninth-largest in terms of global gas reserves with over 200 Tcf, as well as the establishment of modular refineries and training facilities for the youth in the oil-bearing communities as a way to fighting the rising waves criminalities and other social vices.”
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