Falana urges NLC to lead workers on anti-corruption war

Rights lawyer to PENGASSAN: recover $60b for minimum wage

RIGHTS lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has urged the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to lead workers in the fight against corruption.

He admonished the workers not to leave the battle to the government, stressing that “no government fights corruption genuinely”.

He spoke as the guest speaker at the 40th anniversary of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria  (PENGASSAN) in Abuja.

The theme of discussion  was “Dynamic labour leadership fueling the economy”.

The legal luminary, who insisted that Nigeria was yet to get value for its oil and gas blessings, wondered why the country remains a borrower instead of being a lender to other nations.

He said peace would continue to elude the nation in as much as it has over 30 million children on the streets, stressing that the oil and gas industry remains the economic mainstay of the country that it can use to rescue the suffering citizenry.

Falana noted that in 2015, he wrote a letter directing the attention of the Federal Government to the Offshore and Inland Contract Act that said government should review the sharing contract whenever the price of crude oil exceeds $25 per barrel.

He said: “I wrote to NNPC, I wrote to the Saraki-led National Assembly . In 2016, Kachikwu confessed that $60 billion has been lost due to the non-implementation of the policy.”

The Lagos lawyer noted that Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom states challenged the non-implementation up to the Supreme Court, where it was decided in their favour on Wednesday.

He insisted that “we should collect the money. PENGASSAN should get the money for minimum wage”.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said the association has played a vital role in stabilising the country.

He said the government recognised the potential of the sector to contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

He added that it was his pleasure to support the association in championing the N1.5 billion appeal fund for a digital library

Kachikwu said he was particularly grateful to the association for the support and understanding it accorded him during the increase in the pump price of petrol.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr. Maikanti Baru hailed the association for the maturity it exhibited during industrial disputes resolutions.