Group condemn protests against NUPRC

A coalition of Civil Society groups has condemned the recent protests against the management team of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission over poor working conditions in the agency.

The group cautions staff members not to allow themselves to be used to stagnate the commission.

Workers of the the Nigerian upstream Petroleum regulatory commission had staged a protest outside the premises of the NUPRC last week to air their grievances.

They accused the management of the commission of non-remittance of pension deductions, poor working environment, insufficient working tools as well as non-payment of outstanding claims for staff medicals.

The workers claimed that the monies deducted from their salaries for pensions were not being remitted on time in line with the provisions of the pension act.

The commission had in a statement denied the accusations saying the obligations relating to claims made had been fulfilled, and efforts are already in place to achieve closure on the pending items.

This coalition of Civil Society groups is worried that the staff would choose this path to air their grievances rather than employ all internal dispute mechanisms.

They question the motive behind the protest, insinuating that the protesting workers may be under the influence of those against regulations introduced by the Commission to check oil theft in the country.