Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The outgoing President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo, has said his administration’s major achievements over the past six years included protecting workers’ jobs, improving welfare packages, and contributing to stability in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Speaking at a media parley in Abuja on Wednesday, Osifo said effective union leadership must be visible and its impact felt by the people it represents.
He said, “The people must see you as their leader, and they must feel your impact. So, one of the things we did in the last three years, in the last six years, is that we were on the shop floor.”
Osifo said PENGASSAN remained committed to protecting members’ welfare and incomes despite significant economic shocks, particularly the sharp devaluation of the naira in 2023, which substantially eroded workers’ purchasing power.
He said the union negotiated with employers to restore a substantial portion of the purchasing power lost by workers, stating that the adjustments in many cases have to exceed the prevailing inflation rate.
He said, “We did everything possible to restore back, not 100 per cent of the branches, but a substantial majority of the branches.
“We were able to push and restore back what they lost.”
According to him, “If you are restoring back devaluation, that means you are going much above inflation. That was one of the strategies.”
Osifo described his leadership style as hands-on, saying union members need to see their leaders during negotiations and periods of industrial challenges, rather than only during elections.
He said the approach helped the union manage disputes over job cuts, contract reviews, collective bargaining agreements, and workers’ welfare without allowing disagreements to escalate into prolonged industrial crises.
Osifo stated, “That closeness is what helped us stabilise the sector. When there were issues of job cuts, contract reviews, or welfare disputes, we didn’t abandon any branch.
“We went there, we sat with management, we sat with workers, and we found solutions.”
Osifo, whose second tenure ends this month, said PENGASSAN’s proactive engagement contributed to maintaining relative industrial peace in the oil and gas sector at a time when other sectors were experiencing strikes, job losses, and other labour-related challenges.
He said his leadership had deliberately sought to remain close to members at the branch level, particularly during negotiations over collective bargaining agreements.
Osifo stated, “Because of each of their Collective Bargaining Agreements, if the people don’t see me there with them, they will see the zonal chairman there with them. So, they saw that leadership where we worked with them closely.
“We never abandoned any of our branches. We worked with them closely to bring about the level of remuneration that we have in the oil and gas industry.”
He added that the trust built between the leadership and members enabled the Central Working Committee to take technical and strategic decisions that enjoyed broad acceptance within the union.
As he prepared to hand over to a new leadership, Osifo said he was leaving behind a stronger PENGASSAN, with improved welfare structures and a union constitution updated to reflect contemporary realities in the energy sector.
He urged the incoming leadership to sustain the culture of engagement and continue to prioritise members’ welfare amid volatility in global oil prices, changing industry dynamics and the ongoing transition in the global energy landscape.
Osifo said, “The oil and gas sector is strategic to Nigeria. If there is stability there, the entire economy feels it. Our responsibility as PENGASSAN is to ensure that those who work in the sector are protected, motivated, and their rights are not trampled upon.”