By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT — Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company E&P Limited (NEPL) have rejected the suspension of their branch executives by the union’s national leadership.

The national leadership had reportedly imposed a three-year suspension on the Branch Chairman, Comrade Jimmy Ejiro Dafe, and other executives over their alleged refusal to accept compulsory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) deductions from members’ monthly salaries.

However, the NEPL branch congress, in a statement issued Wednesday in Port Harcourt, described the suspension of Dafe — who is also a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) — as unlawful and a threat to the union’s democratic principles.

The statement, jointly signed by members of the NEPL PENGASSAN Branch Congress Committee, including Comrades David Otiede and Olawunmi Oduyemi, alleged that Dafe was victimized for conveying members’ rejection of the proposed CSR levy. The branch claimed that over 70 percent of its members opposed the deductions.

The congress expressed concern over what it described as the national leadership’s silence following a seven-day ultimatum and a subsequent 48-hour notice, calling it a breach of natural justice and the Trade Unions Act.

It also criticized plans for a Special National Delegates Conference (SNDC), alleging it was an attempt to entrench the CSR deductions and increase check-off dues in the union’s constitution without proper mandate.

Warning that the dispute could disrupt industrial harmony in the oil sector, the branch noted that its over 600 members contribute to the production of more than 350,000 barrels of oil per day.

The group demanded the immediate reinstatement of Comrade Dafe and a halt to what it termed unconstitutional financial obligations.

“Our union belongs to the members, not a few individuals. We will not allow democratic structures to be weakened,” the statement added, warning of sustained advocacy to protect members’ rights.
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