By Lawani Mikairu
Fifteen staff of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, have sued the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, over their suspension and the appointment of caretaker committee for the NMDPRA branch in Abuja.
The 15 members suing for themselves and as concerned members of PENGASSAN, NMDPRA branch dragged the PENGASSAN leadership before the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja, in suit NICN/ABJ/307/2025.
They are asking the court to declare that by the provision of the PENGASSAN Constitution 2022; the affairs of a branch of the association cannot be administered with a caretaker committee for more than three months within which a branch election shall be conducted, amongst other reliefs.Defendants in the suit are PENGASSAN, its National President, Festus Osifo; General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa; Tony Izogba; Gbolahan Akinyo; Okechuwku Nwanko, Abba Safana and Polycarp Ihejirika, who are all members of the caretaker committee.
The legal battle added a new dimension to the crisis in the NMDPRA branch of PENGASSAN, which culminated in the suspension of over 40 members by the PENGASSAN leadership. This is the latest in the series of controversy between PENGASSAN and some of its branches.
The association is also having a running battle with the branches in Shell, Chevron and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board,NCDMB.
The National Industrial Court sitting in Lagos, had also ordered all parties involved in a leadership dispute at the Chevron branch of the PENGASSAN to maintain peace and cooperate with the court.
Trial judge, Justice Joyce Onugba-Damachi, gave the directive while hearing the suit by seven Chevron senior staff challenging the union’s national leadership over the dissolution of the branch’s executive committees and the installation of a caretaker committee (CTC).
Recall that some staff members had rejected the caretaker committee for the branch installed by the National Secretariat of PENGASSAN.The decision, announced on June 27, has been described by them as unconstitutional.
, undemocratic, and a breach of the union’s internal rules.
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