The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has declared Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), persona non grata for his recent comments on the strike action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
The declaration followed Oshiomhole’s televised remarks criticising the PENGASSAN strike against the Dangote Refinery, which he described as “ill-considered.”
The union said his comments amounted to a betrayal of the working class and a justification for the victimisation of over 800 dismissed engineers.
In a statement jointly signed by Comrade Williams Akporeha, NUPENG President, and Comrade Olawale Afolabi, General Secretary, the union accused the Senator of rationalising the oppression of workers despite being a former labour leader.
The statement reads: “The leadership of NUPENG hereby declares Senator Adams Oshiomhole persona non grata within the ranks of Nigerian oil and gas workers for his undistinguished denunciation of the PENGASSAN strike against the unjustifiable sack of 800 engineers as punishment for exercising the fundamental right of unionism.
“Henceforth, we will not participate in or lend legitimacy to any event featuring Senator Oshiomhole. The NLC, TUC and all conscientious civil society organisations are hereby notified.”
NUPENG said Oshiomhole’s comments represented “a dangerous toxin” designed to weaken the labour movement and embolden anti-union forces in the petroleum sector.
“Oshiomhole’s denunciation and insensitivity to the plight of 800 engineers is a monumental betrayal of the cause of the working class,” the statement added. “We advise him to desist from commenting on labour matters, as he has lost the moral right and legitimacy before Nigerian workers.”
Oshiomhole, in an earlier interview with Arise Television, had argued that new private investors such as Dangote Refinery should be allowed time to stabilise before facing industrial action.
“If you cripple a business before it finds its feet, you are also destroying the jobs you claim to protect,” he said, likening the PENGASSAN strike to a “war” that hurts innocent Nigerians.
But NUPENG dismissed his defence as hypocrisy, saying the former NLC president had “crossed the moral line from advocate to adversary of the Nigerian worker.”
The union reaffirmed its solidarity with PENGASSAN and vowed to continue using all legal and industrial tools within Nigerian and international labour laws to secure justice for the affected workers.