PENGASSAN: Refineries Must Be Profitable To Survive, Says Osifo

By James Ike

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has attributed the continued struggles of Nigeria’s government-owned refineries to their inability to operate profitably despite billions of naira invested in their rehabilitation.

PENGASSAN President, Comrade Festus Osifo, disclosed this yesterday while speaking at a gathering of past presidents, secretaries-general and founding fathers of the association.

Osifo said the Port Harcourt refinery, despite the huge funds committed to its rehabilitation and revival, had failed to deliver the expected returns, stressing that profitability was crucial to the sustained operation of the facilities.

He said the situation had raised concerns over the effectiveness of successive government interventions in the petroleum sector, particularly the huge resources committed to revamping state-owned refineries.

The PENGASSAN president also warned that worsening poverty across the country was undermining efforts to tackle insecurity, urging the Federal, state and local governments to adopt drastic and coordinated measures to improve the living conditions of Nigerians.

According to him, insecurity would remain difficult to contain unless governments at all levels urgently addressed economic hardship, reduced poverty and created opportunities for citizens to improve their livelihoods.

Osifo particularly called for stronger and more responsive governance at the grassroots, arguing that local governments, being the closest tier of government to the people, should be repositioned to address the everyday challenges confronting citizens.

He lamented that many local governments had become largely ineffective, depriving citizens of an effective grassroots platform through which they could demand accountability and seek solutions to basic community needs.

He said the worsening economic situation affected not only low-income earners but also workers on relatively good salaries, as many were forced to support unemployed relatives, neighbours and other members of their communities.

“Government must demonstrate greater responsiveness to the plight of Nigerians,” Osifo said, stressing that poverty reduction was a collective responsibility of the Federal Government, states and local governments.

He added that while PENGASSAN’s primary responsibility remained the protection of members’ jobs, remuneration and welfare, the association could not ignore the broader economic challenges confronting the country.

Osifo also emphasised members’ welfare and capacity development, noting that the wellbeing of workers had implications for society because employees remained integral members of their communities.

The PENGASSAN president said the gathering also provided an opportunity to honour the association’s past leaders and founding fathers whose sacrifices and contributions laid the foundation for its growth and development.

He said the former leaders had continued to provide guidance and advice to the current leadership whenever they identified areas requiring attention or improvement, adding that the awards presented to them were tokens of appreciation for their contributions to the association.