The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has accused the Federal Ministries of Labour and Interior of violating established regulations by granting expatriate status to approximately 11,000 Indians employed by Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited.
Speaking in Abuja, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, condemned what he described as the takeover of jobs meant for Nigerians, warning that the union would withdraw its services if the expatriates were not sent back to their home country.
“If all our efforts fail to produce the desired result, PENGASSAN will not hesitate to call its members out on a full-scale strike,” Osifo said.
“We have been on this issue for a few years now with government agencies not doing anything about it. Is the government not supposed to take action? The government will have to choose whether to be on the side of the Nigerian people or take the side of Indians.”
He criticised the influx of expatriates performing jobs that Nigerians are qualified for, stating:
“We are crying about unemployment, but our government officials are granting expatriate quotas to Indians to take up jobs that are meant for Nigerians, as expressly stated in the Nigeria Local Content law. We have Indians doing domestic work such as cooks and security guards in this country. Which other country in the world accepts that?”
Osifo also faulted the Ministry of Interior for interfering in expatriate quota allocations, which he insisted should be handled by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
He alleged that Sterling Oil had a history of anti-labour practices, recalling that the company sacked 18 workers in 2017 after preventing them from participating in union activities.
Beyond the call for the deportation of the expatriates, PENGASSAN also demanded that the Federal Government compel Sterling Oil to reinstate the affected workers and respect the rights of Nigerian employees to unionize.
While both the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the NCDMB have pledged to intervene, PENGASSAN maintained that only an on-the-spot inspection of Sterling Oil’s operations would expose the extent of violations.
The union rejected the formation of what it termed a “never-ending” committee, insisting that immediate action was necessary.
Osifo further decried the company’s lack of Nigerian representation in senior management positions, alleging that even menial jobs were being handled by Indian expatriates.
“Jobs such as welders, vulcanisers, gate and security jobs, cooks, communication and panel operators are all carried out by Indians,” he stated.
PENGASSAN has vowed to escalate its actions if the government fails to act swiftly on its demands.
