NUPENG cautions military against forceful eviction of workers from Oritsetimeyin oil rig
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) yesterday raised an alarm over an alleged attempt by the Nigerian military and armed security forces to forcibly evict workers from the Oritsetimeyin Rig in Delta State.
NUPENG claims the eviction attempt is at the directive of the rig’s operators, Dutchford Exploration and Production (E&P), Selective Marine Services, and associated labour contractors who reportedly failed to honour a recent labour agreement on severance payments.
The union in a statement jointly signed by its President, Williams Akporeha and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, cautioned the military and security forces to refrain from “any attempt to threaten, intimidate, harass, coerce, or forcefully evacuate” its members from the rig, emphasizing that the issue is an industrial relations dispute and not a military conflict. “The authority of the Nigeria Army and other Security Forces should direct its men to desist forthwith from any attempt to threaten, intimidate, harass/coerce or forcefully evacuate our members from the rig and thereby deny them their legitimate demands,” NUPENG stated.
Akporeha further appealed to federal government to intervene and prevent what he warned could lead to “unexpected casualties” if military force was used against the workers.
“We earnestly use this medium to call on the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Director General, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Federal Government to immediately call the military and other security agencies to order.”
The union accused the companies of employing “brute force” to sidestep compliance with the agreement reached in October.
The agreements, the union noted, were established in meetings overseen by the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and witnessed by the Department of State Services (DSS). These meetings included an online session held on July 17 and a series of physical meetings in Abuja from September 24 to 27, resulting in a signed agreement on October 7, which stipulated severance payments to workers.
NUPENG alleges, however, that rather than honour the agreement, Dutchford E&P and Selective Marine opted to backtrack, reminiscent of similar unfulfilled commitments made in 2022.
“Unfortunately, and true to their character, instead of Dutchford E&P, Selective Marine and its Labor Contractors to comply with the Agreement, these Companies decided once again to renege on its commitments with impunity,” Akporeha asserted.
Akporeha stressed that the rig operators had previously shown a “penchant for running away with workers’ terminal benefits” and disregarding Nigerian regulatory authorities.
“It is really unfortunate and saddening that in a democratic setting like ours and at this age, some employers and some state collaborators will be making attempts to use brute force to settle industrial relations issues,” the statement read.
