Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, have called on the Federal Government to caution members of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Warri Zone, against any further invasion of the premises of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, FUPRE, Effurun, Delta State, to avert a breakdown of Law and order.
This warning comes three months after the Minister of Education released N50 billion in earned allowances to university-based unions at FUPRE. Members of NUPENG and PENGASSAN—non-university-based unions—have claimed entitlement to a share of the funds. In protest, they reportedly used oil tankers to block the University’s main gate last Thursday, preventing vehicles from entering or leaving the institution.
In response, SSANU, in a statement titled “Adherence to the Payment of Earned Allowance to the University-Based Unions in FUPRE,” and signed by Cheta Azuma, National Vice President (South-South Zone), and Iduh Ogboe Julius, Secretary (South-South Zone), condemned the actions of the oil workers, questioning their entitlement to university-specific benefits.
The statement reads in part: “The Minister of Education released N50 billion to federal university-based unions of FUPRE on April 23, 2025, with a clearly stated sharing formula. Surprisingly, on July 23, 2025, two non-university-based unions—NUPENG and PENGASSAN—invaded the premises of FUPRE. They shut down the entrance gate for two consecutive days, insisting that their members in FUPRE must be paid the earned allowances meant exclusively for university-based unions.
“The question is: how can NUPENG and PENGASSAN, unions under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, approach the Ministry of Education to lay claims to earned allowances allocated to university workers?” SSANU further cited legal and administrative precedents rejecting the involvement of the petroleum unions in university affairs. For the record, there is a letter dated May 7, 2021, from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment stating that PENGASSAN cannot unionise senior staff of FUPRE. The University falls outside the jurisdictional scope defined in the Trade Unions Act Cap T14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), which governs PENGASSAN’s operations.
Furthermore, Justice B.B. Kanyip, President of the National Industrial Court, Abuja Division, gave a landmark judgment on March 30, 2022, affirming that PENGASSAN cannot unionise FUPRE senior staff. The ruling emphasised that PENGASSAN is an industry-based union and cannot operate in a university setting. The University’s Governing Council, at its 58th Regular Meeting on July 30, 2024, reiterated that both PENGASSAN and NUPENG remain unrecognised within the university based on the Industrial Court judgment.
The statement further clarified: “The released earned allowance is a product of a collective bargaining agreement between the Federal Government and the university-based unions. Therefore, it has nothing to do with industrial-based unions like PENGASSAN and NUPENG.” SSANU urged the Ministers of Education and Labour and Employment, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, the Delta State Commissioner of Police, the Department of State Services, DSS, and the FUPRE Governing Council to take urgent action against the petroleum unions.
Leave feedback about this