Proposed sale of refineries was to rip-off Nigerians – PENGASSAN

AST month, after a meeting between Federal Government officials, labour leaders in the Nigeria’s Petroleum industry, the planned privatization of the four public refineries was jettisoned and the planned shutdown of the sector by labour was similarly suspended. In an interview with Sweetcrude, one of the labour leaders at the meeting and Chairman of the Lagos zone of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Rev Folorunsho Sunday Oginni, among others, gives insight on how the planned sale would have rip-off the nation. Excerpts.

Now that labour leaders have reached agreement with the Federal Government that the refineries would not be privatized, at least for now, what’s next?

We are threading with what I can call caution. The issue of the refineries, we shouted and thank God and the media for the role played. People need to ask why we were against the sale of the refineries and why are we against this privatization? I explained to a cross section of Nigerians when I appeared recently on a television programme. As we speak today, I stand to be corrected, that none of the so-called privatised companies has so far been making profit. We privatized Daily Times of Nigeria, as we speak today, Daily Times has never returned to the news stand.

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