Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Warri Zone have picketed the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE) in Effurun, Uvwie local government area of Delta State.
They protested against the institution’s vice chancellor, Prof. Ezekiel O. Agbalagba, especially his circular issued to members of staff and student on July 21.
They said the circular, with reference number VC/STAF&STDS/25/VOL1, titled: “Security Alert and Caution to All Staff and Students,” falsely portrayed union members as a security threat and called for armed security deployment against them.
The unions stormed the university’s gate at 6 a.m. and blocked the road leading to the school and its main gate with their tankers and trucks as they chanted solidarity songs, in a peaceful protest.
They bore placards with different inscriptions such as, “Prof. Ezekiel O. Agbalagba Must Go”, “We Say No to Divide and Rule by the Vice Chancellor of FUPRE”, “We Say No to Victimization”, “We Say No to Intimidation”, “Earned Allowance is Our Legitimate Right”, “Pay Our Members Earned Allowance”, and “Prof. Ezekiel O. Agbalagba Cannot Teach Us Unionism”, amongst others.
In some of their placards, they threatened to escalate the protest nationwide if Prof. Agbalagba does not tread with caution by halting the alleged harassment and victimisation of their members.
Leaders of the union, including Afolabi Olawale, general secretary of NUPENG, and Lumumba Okugbawa, general secretary of PENGASSAN led the protest.
“The Vice Chancellor should come and do his worst. He has no right to stop our protest.”
While accusing him of taking anti-union actions that are “archaic, repressive, and provocative,” they rubbished the memo by the Vice Chancellor, saying it is not only disgraceful but dangerous.
They lambasted the VC for calling out security personnel against defenceless staff members who are exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of association. According to them, “it’s an unacceptable abuse of power.”
It would be recalled that Prof. Agbalagba, in the circular on Monday, said, “Be advised that the university management will not tolerate any action that will jeopardize the peaceful academic environment or undermine the significant achievement of the Visitor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) administration in maintaining an uninterrupted academic calendar across Nigerian universities.”
