Business
Oil Workers Want End To Sector Crises
L-R President International Affairs, US Chamber of Commerce, Mr Scott Eisner, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, US Chambers of Commerce, Mr Myron Brilliant and Director Policy Africa, U S Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Lala Ndiaye, during a courtesy call on the minister in Abuja recently.
Oil workers in Rivers
State, while expressing concern over the incessant crises in the sector, have said it is only through collective effort that the issues could be resolved.
A one-time President of Trade Union Congress in Nigeria (TUC) Peter Isele, in a chat with The Tide, said the problems were innumerable and could not be solved by any one individual, union, group or government, saying, it has to be by collective efforts”.
Speaking on some of the challenges plaguing the sector, Isele stated that, corruption, subsidy payment to marketers, pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, poor state of the refineries and policy abuse, were some of the challenges inhibiting the smooth operation of the sector.
Another respondent, Mr. Denis Tamuno, a retired oil worker identified duplication of roles and interference of supposed regulatory bodies.
According to Tamuno, “the roles of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Equalisation Fund, and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation are interwoven at some point and seem to raise role conflicts among these groups.”
He noted that government has failed to recognise that these bodies could be merged, so as to give the workers confidence in the discharge of their duties saying, “as it is, the workers could interpret these functions to suit themselves and come up with resistance if they perceive that their fundamental human rights were being trampled upon.”
Also responding, Mr Barry Gboele, complained that government comes up with all sorts of demands on oil companies without due consultations, which burden falls on the workers.
“Take for instance the restructuring of NNPC, how can government tell us that we, the workers cannot be involved in the restracturing of NNPC, but we are expected to be involved in the implementations of their decisions,” he asked.
He added, that the issues in the oil sector could be resolved if all the stakeholders could form a common front for the good of all involved.
Tonye Nria-Dappa
Business
NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products
Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.
The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.
The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.
“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.
NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.
