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NAOC Sale: PENGASSAN, NUPENG Threaten Service Withdrawal

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2 years ago

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Sequel to the sale of the Nigeria Agip Oil Company and Eni Nigeria to Oando Plc, members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) Workers have threatened withdrawal of their services from offices and offshore/field locations.
The threat came from oil and gas workers in the PENGASSAN branch in Mobil, Chevron, NUPENG, Total Energies and Shell companies.
The workers said the transaction was done without due process, adding that the planned withdrawal of their services was in solidarity support of NAOC staff over the purported sale of Agip company to Oando Plc.
This was contained in a Solidarity Letter jointly signed by the Shell branch Chairman, Ikechukwu Onyefuru, Chevron branch Secretary, Pepple Soparaipirim, Total Energies branch Secretary, Abubakar Ibrahim,  NUPENG General Secretary, Afolabi Otawale, and Mobil branch Chairman, Aniete Udoh, to the Branch Chairman, AGIP Group, PENGASSAN, PortHarcourt, and made available to Newsmen, at the Weekend.
According to the letter, the workers would not relent on taking any step, including the withdrawal of services to drive home their demand and ensuring the right thing is done.
The Letter said, “we write to express our absolute solidarity with all your members after reading with shock and consternation the purported treacherous route chosen by your Management in dealing with our NAOC Comrades in the disposal of its equity in its JV assets to Oando Oil Ltd without recourse to outstanding financial obligations to workers.
“We share in the pains and emotional trauma which you are currently facing and humbly state that you should continue to stand very firm and resolute as you go through this phase of the struggle against this injustice meted to staff and contracted staff members of PENGASSAN.
“In line with the principles of fairness, equity, and social partnership, we believe that all the in-house unions in NAOC should be engaged by Management before, during and after the divestment to address the necessary employee welfare and benefits as will be reasonably demanded by the Unions.
“Furthermore, and to forestall any negative precedence in the industry, we plead that you continue to insist that issues of comprehensive and proper Compensation, Pension and Redundancy be exhaustively addressed transparently to the satisfaction of the in-house unions and in full compliance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act of 2014.
“The CBA must be treated with the sanctity it deserves at this moment.
“We hereby express full solidarity with our comrades and other affected Nigerian Staff of NAOC and wish to declare that we are willing to take any step, including but not limited to service withdrawal to show our resolve on this subject”.
A staff of the company, who spoke to TheTide under anonymity, said “we are demanding our fate. Things have to be done properly and that is what we are asking of the management”.
By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu
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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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18 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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18 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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18 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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