THESE OIL WORKERS ARE ECONOMIC SABOTEURS; THEY MUST BE CUT TO SIZE!

ZION B-BC   NEWSLETTER.  

A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja Nigeria. [VOL. 5. NO 135. 13th March, 2016.} “…ONLY The Truth, Will Set You   Free! (John.8:32).

THESE OIL WORKERS ARE ECONOMIC SABOTEURS; THEY MUST BE CUT TO SIZE!

It is crystal clear that all the efforts of the present Change Administration to revamp the dwindling economy of Nigeria through local efforts and international diplomacy have no visible impact on Nigerian workers in the oil sector! They decided to embark on a spurious nation-wide strike on Wednesday, 9th March, 2016, to further compound the already chaotic nation-wide fuel scarcity, just twenty-four hours of the unbundling of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), into viable business enterprises by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources! Though, the unbundling architecture was an urgent step in the right direction to remove the age-long stigmatisation of the NNPC as a conglomeration of endemic corruption and was poised to completely erase its very bad image and strengthen the weak and fragile mono-economy profile bequeathed to President Buhari nine months ago, these sworn-enemies of the masses decided to shut down all NNPC operations nationwide! Their attitude was detrimental to sound economic judgement and reasoning; and also tantamount to an act of treason against the Nigerian nation because they had always proved to be insensitive to the plight of their fellow citizens whose livelihood depended on the regular and constant supply of petrol and kerosene – the only dividend of democracy from the FIRST largest producer of crude oil in Africa! Although they called off the strike the following day, the ripple effects of their folly of selfishness and greed on the economy brought back endless queues at the filling stations and almost reversed the following economic gains:
The international crude oil price which appreciated for the first time in about 21months to between US$39-40 dollars to give some leverage to the 2016 Appropriation Bill predicated at US$38 dollars per barrel benchmark. Comment: If economic activities were further grounded through the orchestrated strike, Nigeria’s exportation of crude oil would be suspended and the refineries would stop production of finished petroleum products and other ancillary activities at the Ports would also be halted!
In spite of persistent oil pipelines vandalism NNPC was able to keep some of the Oil Refineries on stream for premium motor spirit/diesel production to augment the much-reduced volume of imported finished products from overseas. Comment: This government’s counter vandalism efforts would also have been put on hold to the detriment of the suffering masses!
Nigerians were about to recover from over two weeks of nation-wide petrol shortage which seriously affected the much-needed workers manpower output in both the public and private sectors of the economy due to “transportation challenges” from the various Petroleum Depots to commercial outlets when these “house-hold enemies” disrupted distribution again! Comment: As at the time of this publication the petrol filling station queues have multiplied by leaps and bounds as the helpless citizens were held to ransom!
The unbundling, which was aimed at transforming the outfit into a more viable and more-profitable venture and which would not have altered the management’s organisational chart but emphasize; (a) the corporation’s restructuring for efficiency, (b) enhance the re-organisation of facilities on upstream, downstream, refineries, gas and power, including  ventures that would capture small companies that were usually unaccounted for! Comment: This effort should have been applauded and embraced by the oil workers like their fellow citizens instead of an outright condemnation that it did not follow due process and would affect their welfare!

What did the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), know about due process when they are the most gullible when it came to senseless workers strikes across the nation at every given opportunity? Did these Unions mandate include interference in positive policy directions and decisions of the Federal Government which have been enumerated above and did not in any way infringe on the workers welfare or fringe benefits in any form for them to condemn the Executive for unbundling their parent body, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), even though they were properly briefed by the Minister of State who also doubles as the Group Managing Director (GMD), of the Corporation. To whose drumbeats are the trade unions dancing if not that of those who want the status quo of stealing and outright embezzlement of crude oil monies to remain, and also those who are now RICHER THAN NIGERIA through “ownership” of several stolen OIL BLOCKS of the masses through which they flaunt and launder their illicit oil wealth? There is no doubt that some members of the National Assembly (NASS), are in support of this category of economic saboteurs working against the good intentions of the Change Government or how would one analyze the following statements from some “distinguished law makers”?
That the Executive had overshot its constitutional duties by repealing and amending the NNPC Act of 1977 by unbundling the NNPC without due process of legislative amendments!
That the Executive through that action had jeopardized the deliberations and subsequent passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), presently before the NASS.
That Mr. President had no constitutional right to approve the unbundling of the NNPC through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

This unwarranted intervention by NASS Legislators brings to the fore our advocacy that only diligent, forthright and politically-motivated candidates who would blend into the polity with much dexterity and understanding of social and economic issues should be voted for by the electorate at all elections! Why should it be so difficult for these “honourable elites” to understand that re-organization or restructuring of any government establishment would not need legislative amendments since they were regular administrative duties usually geared towards better management efficiency and profitability?

Are the legislators aware that through one of such administrative interventions, NNPC’s operation loss was reduced from N160billion to N3billion in January 2016? Are they also aware that the NNPC Management Team was also poised to start generating profit by the end of this year as President Buhari’s Administration was focussed on developing Nigeria’s Gas resources to boost revenue as part of the Diversification Policy? Are they aware that through the on-going restructuring, Nigeria would stop the importation of petroleum products within 18 calendar months thereby closing the era of previous dubious and institutionally-supported monumental fraud called OIL SUBSIDY to ghost importers? Are they also informed that discussions with new joint venture partners were ongoing to build more refineries in addition to the FOUR existing ones in Kaduna, Warri and Port-Harcourt to actualize this “sing-song dream” of past administrations?

Does the Executive also need legislative fiat to attend to all its day-to-day constitutional activities? Must we compare the calibre of the President’s crop of highly dedicated, educated and very efficient Ministers with some legislators who gate-crashed into positions of authority by hook and crook? These legislators in the 8th National Assembly should understand that NNPC has not been unbundled in the sense of breaking it up into distinct entities, bodies or institutions and so the Nigerian Senate was wrong to have “expressed displeasure” in respect of the “development” and should stop “wondering” why the Executive did not consult NASS before “repealing the enabling law that set up the organisation”! ‘Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), also faulted the restructuring since NNPC Board was yet to be constituted forgetting that the ongoing re-organisation was an administrative duty which rests squarely under the purview of the honourable Minister who had the sole responsibility to eliminate the cabal of endemic corruption in the system! We expect the “learned brother” to realise that Buhari’s moving train of Change cannot be stopped by weightless legal bureaucracy geared to score academic points and cheap political points because the Executive has its legal team of erudite legal practitioners, scholars and very senior advocates who know better!

In a previous edition, [Volume. 2. No. 58 of 21-09-14], titled, “NUPENG IS ANTI-MASSES!” we made the following comments which are still very relevant today: “One strike, too many!” No year virtually run its full course in Nigeria without being punctuated by the intermittent labour disputes of OIL WORKERS, for one genuine or very petty reason!
NUPENG is very SELFISH for declaring another trade dispute and failing to consider the hardship and pains that non-oil workers who are in the majority, would suffer!
Petrol and Kerosine, which are obtained at high costs by the masses, the only “dividends of democracy”, which trickle down from the Masters’ Table, are now being withheld by the unregenerate and uncircumcised at heart!
In fifteen years, [1999-2014], of another opportunity of practising true federalism, our characteristic traits of patriotism should emphasize sincerity, probity, faithfulness in fiscal appropriation and responsibility; but what we have on display is the same old business of “robbing Peter to pay Paul”!

Have Nigerian politicians ever learnt from past calamities that befell their counterparts who betrayed the masses of people, through embezzlement of the COMMONWEALTH?
From the First to the Seventh Republic, we can authoritatively confirm that none of them escaped GOD’s PUNISHMENT! Their tight security arrangements comprising of police and military personnel, armoured carriers and vests, have failed to shield them from God’s wrath!

The following are the Words of God:
“I will punish them for their sin (Exodus.32:34); “I will punish the world for its evil (Isaiah.13:11); “Your wickedness will punish you” (Jeremiah.2:19); “I will punish you as your deeds deserve” (Jere.21:14); etc.
The few cabal,(military and civilians), who forced themselves into leadership positions in government are solidly in control of all oil resources and maintain monopoly in order to buy up “agitators” who are privy to secrets of the stupendous wealth and riches of the OIL SECTOR, through which they have perpetrated themselves and their surrogates in office since Nigeria’s independence!

THESE OIL WORKERS ARE AMONG THE AGITATORS AND WHAT THEY ARE AFTER THIS TIME AROUND, IS ANOTHER PORTION OF THE “NATIONAL CAKE”, BECAUSE NO CALENDAR YEAR IS EVER COMPLETE
WITHOUT THEIR SELFISH DEMANDS!”

Time To Probe Assets Of NUPENG And PENGASSAN!
There is every indication to believe that the in-house oil workers unions were always being sponsored to go on strike by the Oil Cabal whenever government made moves to sanitize the oil sector through their top executives judging from past experiences from 1999-2015! The time is now ripe for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to investigate the activities of these oil workers who have now become a regular threat to the nation, a clog in the wheel of economic progress and tools in the hands the cabal that is determined to hold 170 million Nigerians to ransom and we so request the Federal Government to unmask them and their sponsors and bring them to justice! NNPC is not an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), for economic saboteurs!  NO SABOTEUR WILL GO UNPUNISHED IN JESUS CHRIST’S NAME, AMEN!

Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord. [For weekly access, to this newsletter, log on to:  facebook.com/zionfaithbible.believingchurch or http://www.zfbbc1.blogspot.com, https://www.google.com/+zionfaithbiblebelievingchurch.

If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer: Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary; I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen. If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations.

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor. 08130669886, 08098194390.  08080243066   g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.