Oil Workers Shut Down NUPRC Over Foreign Training Row

Oil-sector workers under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), shut down the operations of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) after a dispute over foreign training placements, forcing the regulator to suspend operations nationwide.

PENGASSAN members blocked entrances and halted administrative functions, demanding clarity on training allocations and alleging favoritism in who was chosen for overseas programmes.

LEADERSHIP checks showed that PENGASSAN embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike, shutting down all commission offices across the country mainly over a dispute concerning foreign training.

The industrial action, which commenced on Monday, led to a total shutdown of regulatory activities at NUPRC headquarters in Abuja and all field offices nationwide, effectively grounding administrative and operational functions of the upstream petroleum regulator.

Sources familiar with the development said the strike followed the breakdown of negotiations between the union and management over the handling of staff training programmes, particularly the commission’s position that capacity-building should be conducted locally rather than through overseas training.

According to the sources, management had insisted that training programmes particularly for Factory Acceptance Test for Positive Displacement (PD) Meters be domestically delivered within Nigeria to reduce cost and strengthen local institutional capacity, a stance the workers reportedly rejected.

A security source said that representatives of the parties are presently meeting at the office of the National Security Adviser where a resolution will likely be reached today.