Anxiety over the availability of petroleum products has heightened in some states in the southern part of the country as members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) commence indefinite solidarity strike.
NUPENG members from Warri, Lagos and Port Harcourt zones agreed at a rally in Warri, Delta State yesterday to commence a solidarity strike in protest against alleged infringements on the rights of their members working for Chevron, an oil company in Warri, Delta State.
Addressing members of the union drawn from Chevron and other oil servicing companies, the Chairman of the Warri Zone of NUPENG, Comrade Cogent Ojobor, said the solidarity strike would last until the oil giant addresses all alleged injustices.
Among the demands of the workers are the reinstatement of one of their members, Comrade Ada, payment of 2013 leave allowances, payment of end of contract allowance, job classification and full payment of shift allowance.
The union also frowned against alleged creation of parallel unions for workers by the oil company, vowing to resist any attempt at dividing NUPENG.
The union’s leader in the Warri Zone said that NUPENG had written several letters and had held series of meetings with the management of Chevron over time, noting that the company was aware of the newly called strike action.
He, however, charged members of the union to defend their dignity as they continue to demand fair treatment from the oil company.
Other leaders of the union who spoke at the rally, which was held at the entrance of Chevron on NPA Road, expressed displeasure at the company’s retirement policy and appealed to NUPENG leadership to address the issue head on.
Philanthropist names centre after Aisha Buhari Ahmed Rufa’I, Dutse
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Jigawa State yesterday commissioned and handed over an Islamic centre he constructed and named after President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife, Aisha.
The Islamic centre, built by Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Dano, is located in Ruru village, Dutse Local Government Area of the state.
The centre, which comprises a Juma’at mosque and school, was commissioned by the Jigawa State Deputy Governor, Barrister Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia. It is designed to accommodate 300 worshippers and also has four classrooms.
Speaking at the event, Dano, an ex-officio of the APC in the Northwest, said he had to rebuild the mosque which was built by his father 45 years ago because it had become dilapidated.
Dano said apart from the centre, he also planned to build a maternity clinic for the village.
He said he named the centre after Aisha Buhari because of her commitment to women and child development issues.
The Emir of Dutse, Dr. Nuhu Muhammadu Sunusi, who was named the father of the occasion, called on the people of Ruru village to seize the opportunity of the school to send their children there, adding that it was mandatory for the villagers to send their children to both Islamic and western schools in order to become useful members of the society.
We are always in a state of energy crisis !!