NUPENG Labels Oshiomole ‘Judas’, Cuts Ties With Him Over Anti-Strike Comments

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Monday declared Senator Adams Oshiomhole persona non grata within the ranks of Nigerian oil and gas workers.

NUPENG said the decision was unanimously agreed upon following recent comments made by Oshiomhole on the ongoing rift between Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Refinery.

The communique jointly signed by the NUPENG National President Comrade Williams Amporeha and General Secretary Comrade Afolabi Olawale, described Oshiomole’s comments as a reprehensible assault on the fundamental rights of Nigerian workers and a gross distortion of established labour laws.

Oshiomole, who is the former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president, had criticised PENGASSAN for escalating its disagreement with the Dangote Refinery into a nationwide shutdown of oil facilities, describing the move as hasty and unfair to other workers.

Speaking in an interview with Arise Television on Friday, Oshiomhole said while unions have the right to defend workers, they must do so in ways that do not create economic hardship.

“I think that in seeking to protect a particular set of workers, you do not then risk the jobs of several other workers. When you are pursuing a dispute, the tools you deploy must be such that they do not undermine other people’s jobs.

“I suddenly witnessed long queues at filling stations and people came to me to ask, ‘Why are we not at work today, what has happened to the oil industry?’ And the reason was that PENGASSAN had decided that NNPC be shut down, several other companies shut down, all because of a problem in one refinery.

“We had a big battle with Union Bank of Nigeria over their policy on married couples working together. But even when we had the capacity to shut down all the banks, we didn’t. We recognised that the alleged offence of Union Bank could not be said to apply to others,” he recalled.

“In pursuing war, you have to recognise that the tools you deploy must not hurt innocent people, like the tomato sellers who cannot get fuel to move their goods because there is a quarrel between one refinery and one union.

“Freedom of association is not just a constitutional right, it is a God-given right. But with that freedom comes responsibility, both the employer and employee must exercise their rights in a fair way” Oshiomhole had said.

Responding, NUPENG said Oshiomole’s stance on the crisis was disappointing, alleging that the former labour leader has now transformed into a vocal advocate for corporate oppression against the very rights he once championed.

It noted that Oshiomhole began the interview by conceding his lack of full knowledge on the matter.

According to NUPENG, Oshiomole’s attempts to rationalise the victimisation of workers for exercising their fundamental rights of association and peaceful action are not only nauseating but represent a flagrant misrepresentation of Nigerian Labour Law and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions.

NUPENG restated provisions of the law in Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which guarantees every person the right to freedom of association and assembly.

It said section 9(6) of the Labour Act, Cap L1, LFN 2004 expressly forbids any contract that attempts to exclude a worker from trade union membership.

It also cited that ILO Convention 87 (Freedom of Association) and Convention 98 (Right to Collective Bargaining), both of which have been ratified by Nigeria, affirm that workers have the right to form and join unions of their choice without interference for bargaining purposes.

PENGASSAN said the mass dismissal of workers for unionizing is a violation of these core international standards.

It said, “First, it is the height of irony that we are compelled to ask whether the description of Senator Oshiomhole allegedly by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, at a dinner organized by NLC during one of its Delegates Conference as “a Comrade in the morning
and a politician by night” is true.

“If former President Obasanjo’s description of Senator Oshiomhole is true, we are compelled to ask if such a person qualifies to lecture anyone on strategy and/or morality. Indeed, how would a person who once advised alleged corrupt politicians to join the APC to have their sins forgiven have the effrontery to sermonise on
morality?

“It also speaks volumes to the character of Senator Oshiomhole claiming falsely to have relinquished his position as General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) upon becoming NLC President.

“It is beyond controversy that Mr. Adams Oshiomhole held on to the positions of NLC President and General Secretary of NUTGWN from 1999-2007, and he did not relinquish the position of the General Secretary until 2008, one full year after leaving NLC Presidency.

“There appears to be a pathological tendency on the part of the Senator to rewrite history to suit his current reactionary advocacy for the unconscionable capitalists who are not prepared to accommodate trade unions, in preference for slave labour.

“Oshiomhole’s current posture is not that of a pragmatic convert; it is the prattle of an apostate, intoxicated by the opium of power and dollarized into betraying the cause of the downtrodden Nigerian workers”.

The unions said its leadership “hereby declares Oshiomhole PERSONA NON GRATA within the ranks of Nigerian Oil and Gas Workers for the undistinguished denunciation of the PENGASSAN strike against the unjustifiable sack of 800 Engineers as punishment for exercising the fundamental right of unionism”.

NUPENG continued, “The Undistinguished position of Adams Oshiomhole on the PENGASSAN strike qualifies him as the JUDAS ISCARIOT of Nigerian Trade Unionism. What a monumental betrayal of the cause of the working class! We advise Senator Adams Oshiomhole to retire from commenting on labour matters, as he has irretrievably lost the moral right and legitimacy before Nigerian workers, and particularly oil and gas workers.

“The NLC, TUC and conscionable civil society organisations should kindly take notice” NUPENG concluded.

NUPENG reiterated it stands with PENGASSAN and the over 800 unjustly dismissed workers, noting that it will continue to “deploy every legal and industrial instrument available to us, in full compliance with Nigerian law and global labour standards, to secure justice”.