The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has cautioned that the ongoing strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) could amount to economic sabotage and further weaken the country’s fragile economy.
NECA’s Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said while unions had the right to strike, such rights must be exercised responsibly, within the law, and without jeopardising enterprise survival or workers’ long-term interests.
“Disputes should be resolved through statutory institutions like the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) and the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN),” Oyerinde said. He added that coercing unwilling parties or disrupting lawful business operations contradicted international labour conventions and posed serious risks to national security.
He stressed that disruptive actions that threaten national interest are unacceptable, warning that Nigeria’s fragile economic recovery must not be endangered by “reckless industrial actions” that risk scaring off investors and ultimately hurting the very workers unions claim to protect.
Oyerinde called on the Minister of Labour and Employment and other relevant authorities to intervene urgently, cautioning that delays could undermine job creation, investment inflows, and overall economic stability.
