PENGASSAN Demands Transparency in NNPC's Buy-up

ICEM white-collar affiliate PENGASSAN in Nigeria is calling for complete transparency and full accountability in the acquisition by state Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) of African Petroleum (AP). PENGASSAN is standing with workers of AP who now face uncertain futures at the hands of NNPC following the official 6 July take-over of debt-ridden AP. The companies have not agreed to terms and even a panel of inquiry set up by the government to ascertain debt level cannot reach a decision on the matter. PENGASSAN believes it is wrong for NNPC to acquire AP before due process and an investigation into AP’s indebtedness happens. PENGASSAN President Uche Okoro stated that NNPC should take “a more civilized approach to recover the debt and not wake up one morning and take over AP or stop if from doing business. That will have a lot of impact on our workers of AP and we are not comfortable with that.”