The protest by support staff of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, entered its sixth day on Friday, with the aggrieved workers accusing cabals in the oil and gas sector of deliberately sabotaging efforts to revive the nation’s refineries.
The workers who are casual employees of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited vowed to continue the protest until their demands, including improved welfare and recognition as “critical staff,” were met.
According to them, the Warri refinery will remain inactive until NNPCL’s top management approves better conditions of service for them.
“We’ve been here since Monday, and we’re determined to stay. Management says they’re waiting for approval from Abuja. But we suspect there are forces working to derail President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda for the oil sector.
“We’ve dedicated our youthful and productive years to keeping this refinery afloat, yet our salaries have been peanuts,” said the lead representative of the protesters, Dafe Ighomitedo.
He appealed to the new NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Ojulari, to urgently address their plight and end the “needless embarrassment” the situation was causing the country.
“Our families are suffering. There’s a huge disparity between our pay and that of permanent staff. We won’t leave this protest site until we see what has been approved for us,” Ighomitedo said.
He urged the GCEO to include the welfare of casual staff in his reform agenda, describing them as “slave workers” who deserve better treatment.
He also called on stakeholders and well-meaning Nigerians to support their cause.
“Without this workforce, no matter how many billions of dollars are spent on the refinery, there will be no result,” he warned.
Ighomitedo added that the protest was not a surprise to WRPC management, as workers had previously threatened to take action but were ignored.