Osun State Labour Party Challenges Governor Oshiomhole Over Refinery Privatization

Dec 9th, 2009 | By admin | Category: NEWS

Labour Party (LP), NigeriaCalls For public ownership of the oil industry under democratic control

The Labour Party (LP), Osun State chapter, in a press release has questioned the position credited to Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole over his call for the total privatization of the nation’s refineries as a panacea to the rot in the oil and gas industry as reported by various newspapers. The occasion was the National Delegate Conference of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).

This is unfortunate. In the first instance, the choice of place for Comrade Oshiomhole’s position is highly inauspicious. This is coming at a time when workers in the oil and gas industry, and indeed in the nation, are battling government over the ill-conceived policy of deregulation. Oshiomhole’s position will definitely embolden government to go ahead with the policy and indeed attack workers’ rights when issues get to a critical point.

Furthermore, the position of Comrade Governor is nothing short of class suicide and about turn in position. It was the same Oshiomhole who, as President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), led more than seven general strikes against the Obasanjo government’s attempt at deregulating fuel pricing and privatize the refineries. Is the Comrade Governor telling us that all he did during in his sojourn at the Labour House are mistakes? Ironically, it was Comrade Oshiomhole’s leadership of these struggles that earned him the towering image that catapulted him to power through mass struggle of not only the Edo working and poor people but also the working class in Nigeria.

That the former labour leader could not explain his about-face position is unfortunate. Could this be attributed to veil of power? One would have expected the Comrade Governor to use his vantage position to further advance the struggles of the beleaguered masses of Nigeria by providing a national platform of opposition to the corrupt but bankrupt capitalist political class.

The Comrade Governor predicated his argument on the issue of wastage and corruption in the oil and gas industry. While it is generally agreed that the oil and gas industry is reeking with unprecedented corruption and mismanagement, the question that we expect him to answer is who are behind this whole mess. Is it not the same capitalist class who are contractors and business partners of NNPC and bureaucratic officials of the oil octopus, who are indeed fronts for private businesses? The Yar’Adua government’s revelations about over two trillion naira handed over to the private oil importers in the name of oil importation clearly reveals that the whole of Nigeria’s big business class is bankruptcy.

Is the over fifteen licensed refiners, that have not put a single block down for a refinery not a pointer to Comrade Governor that the so-called investor only exist when government wants to hand over free wealth to the business class (many of whom buy up public corporations with banks’ shareholders’ funds; using the same property to be bought as collateral). Why has the foreign multinationals not built a single refinery after more than fifty years of exploiting the nation’s oil?

The current bank crisis in the country in which the so-called big men in the financial and economic spheres are direct contributors shows that the Nigerian capitalist class is not prepared to develop the country because they are gaining from the current rot. To ask Nigerians to hand over the remaining part of the hard-earned public facilities, which Obasanjo forgot to sell is declaring economic coup against the people. No big business will be ready to commit the huge resources needed to build adequate refineries that can engender economic development.

As far as we are concern, the nation’s refineries should not only be totally developed but the whole oil and gas sector must be put under the democratic control of the people of the country as against the current corrupt tendency where it is the few local moneybags and foreign multinational sharks own the nation’s jugular.

What we expect Comrade Governor to be canvassing is how to build a mass-based genuine political alternative to the current pro-big business political class and not repeating the same worn-out argument of the government and big business class. This is the time for a genuine pro-working and toiling people politician to declare his/her support for the struggle against privatization, deregulation and commercialization, all of which have made the poor poorer and the rich few richer. While the fuel subsidy may be robbery, deregulation is the more brutal form of this robbery. What a genuine government must do is to demand the opening of the account of oil companies including importers, bankers, oil multinationals and the big shots in the decision-making structures of the oil industry who have become fatter, no thanks to corruption. We must demand public ownership of the oil industry under the democratic control of the working people and the wealth realized from this sector used to develop social infrastructures that will raise tens of millions out of poverty.

As for us in labour party Osun State, we shall continue to support the working people’s struggle against privatization, deregulation, commercialization and all other anti-poor economic policies. We call on labour movement to intensify the campaign and actions among the rank and file of the poor people against these policies.

Signed.

Comrade Rufus Oyatoro – Chairman

Mr. Mike Awodire – Secretary

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3 comments
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  1. balogun opeyemi December 15th, 2009 11:14 am :

    comrade Oshiomhole based on your argument you are making a whole lot of sense but even if the oil and gas sector has to be deregulated it has to be done progressively not in a harsh manner not minding the effect it will have on the populace.oil ans gas cant be compared to mobile communication because to make calls it is optional but the product of this sector must be use by every nigerian on adaily basis.
    .-= balogun opeyemi´s last blog ..PHCN: 6,000 MEGA Stories – Cartoon =-.

  2. OYELEYE E.A (WARD 4,ILESA EAST LOCAL GOVT) December 16th, 2009 5:22 pm :

    They do not need to critizise comrade Governor.Oshiomhole is part of progressive who love masses.Am very sure that we are going to have better outcome at end of the it.
    .-= OYELEYE E.A (WARD 4,ILESA EAST LOCAL GOVT)´s last blog ..PHCN: 6,000 MEGA Stories – Cartoon =-.

  3. MACAULAY Dimeji December 22nd, 2009 2:56 pm :

    JOIN TO BUILD LABOUR PARTY IN ILESA .CALL 07032069383.

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