The president of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Festus Osifo, has called for stronger collaboration with the media by the federal government for good governance.
Osifo made the call during the just-concluded PENGASSAN National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Lagos, noting that since frequent collapses of the national grid has become a source of embarrassment to the country, the media could use their reportage as form of weapon to safeguard national assets.
According to him, irrespective of whatever might have caused the over five times collapse last year and a collapse of the national grid in January 2025, it showed that there is a need for collaborative efforts to checkmate the alleged vandalism that could cause the collapse and make sure that involvement of politicians at the detriment of technocrats in handling key positions are dealt with.
The PENGASSAN boss reiterated his call on the federal government to ensure the use of qualified personnel to man the electricity sector to forestall more collapse of the national grid this year, adding that it is absurd to employ politicians to man certain areas that need technical hands.
Osifo described the 2025 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu as grossly inadequate considering the high rate of inflation and infrastructure deficits facing the nation.
“Government should desist from over-burdening the general masses. Revenue expansion should not be based on taxes thereby putting additional burden on the people that have already been pushed to the wall by the hard economic downturn.
“Why should the government base revenue expansion on tax alone when we have many natural resources that are yet to be tapped? Government should invest in getting other natural resources and focus less on tax payment.
“This 2025 budget will not be able to be taken care of when we are faced with many social infrastructures that should be addressed. We are calling on the federal government for revenue-based expansion that can be achieved by tapping the natural resources rather than tax,” he said.
