Recently the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) workers union issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government to quickly wade into the contradictory rulings by the courts in Port Harcourt and Abuja over the crises of leadership rocking the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) or face industrial action. AUGUSTINE OKEZIE takes a critical look at the contending issues and the lurking danger of a possible nationwide fuel strike.
In the last couple of months, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has been enmeshed in crises of leadership. At the peak of the crises, two executive committees emerged, claiming to be the authentic leaders of the association. Amid the crises also, there have been a number of court rulings on the matter, of which the industry is presently in total confusion.
Sensing that the crises might result into tensions that may engulf the oil and gas industry, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) issued a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government to intervene in what it termed the abuse of the judicial process in the protracted leadership crisis rocking IPMAN
While issuing the ultimatum, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) stated that itis going to mobilizemembers for a nationwide strike, should the government fail to respond positively to the ultimatum
NUPENG President,IgweAchesein expressing the union’s concern over the latestjudgment passed by Justice Valentine Ashi of the Abuja high court, overturning the judgment of a high court in Port Harcourt on the 20th of March 2014, opined that the judiciary could allow itself to be used to truncate justice, adding that the judgment has discredited the judiciary and the wheel of justice, equity and truth.
He therefore appealed to the Chief Justice of the Federation and chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice (Mrs.) Alooma Muktar to intervene in the abuse of the judiciary process, especially the “sale of judgment, when an appeal on the case is still pending at the court of appeal, Port Harcourt”.
He equally called for the intervention of the attorney general and minister of Justice on the abuse of the courts to obtain Kangaroo judgment, as done in the judgment given in the IPMAN crisis at the High Court in Abuja.
“We condemn the judgment in its entirety and still stand by the judgment of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which declared Chief Obasi Lawson as the IPMAN President, until a superior court of law says otherwise.
“The idea of using the judiciary to buy judgment does not augur well for the democratic process that the nation has been enjoying for the past 15 years. It does not in any way protect the constitution of our great country in the eyes of the world”, Achese said.
Speaking further, he said the union was involved in the leadership crisis because 60% of IPMAN members are in NUPENG, adding that the union cannot fold its hands and allow members in IPMAN to suffer.
He noted that the collective bargaining agreement signed with IPMAN and independent marketers branch was yet to be implemented for about 10 years due to the leadership crisis that has become the hallmark of the petroleum marketers association.
He said the union had written several letters to the federal government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the State Security Services for their intervention, adding that the efforts had not yielded any positive result due to the non-challant attitude of the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke on the crisis.
“There have been intervention and reconciliation by the department of state security services but the outcome was never adhered to by the Aminu Abdukadir’s faction. They deliberately refused to obey the court judgment of the federal High court in Port Harcourt that declared Chief Obasi Lawson as the IPMAN president”, he regretted.
“We advise the Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo faction, to first of all go and vacate the judgment in favour of Chief Obasi Lawson, in a higher competent court of jurisdiction (Appeal Court) before parading themselves and supporters as the national executive of IPMAN,” the NUPENG boss said
Meanwhile the unionhas called on the Chief Justice of the federation and chairman of the National Judicial Commission, NJC, Justice Aloma Mariam Muktar, to investigate the circumstance that led to an Abuja High Court to give a counter ruling to a subsisting Port Harcourt High ruling on the leadership crisis in Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, when an appeal was pending at the court of appeal in Port Harcourt.
NUPENG further contended that the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on March 20, 2014, had declared Chief Obasi Lawson as the IPMAN president, while the Aminu Abdukadir’s faction had challenged the ruling at the court of appeal in Port Harcourt, adding that while the appeal was still pending, the Aminu Abdukadir’s faction, allegedly went to an Abuja High court and overturned the ruling of the Port Harcourt High Court on May 28.
The union said it was concerned because as long as the crisis lasted, the welfare of members who constituted over 60% of IPMAN would be relegated to the back ground.
NUPENG said “We condemn the judgment in its entirety and still stand by the judgment of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which declared Chief Obasi Lawson as the IPMAN president, until a superior court of law says otherwise.”
Most Nigerians have wondered why the judiciary appears to have misled itself in the ensuing leadership crisis in IPMAN. This is because the courts cannot claim ignorance of the existence of pending cases or rulings on the matter by the respective courts in the land, a development that should have informed any future decision on the tussle
The flagrant disregard of the court processes by the various parties in filing appeals and cross appeals also is a source of concern to well meaning Nigerians. From my elementary knowledge of the court processes,the flow charts follow from the high court to the appeal court and then to the supreme courts.
The question then is why shouldn’t aggrieved parties to a negative judgment appeal to the next hierarchy of the court rather than approaching a parallel court that does not enjoy any superior status for the same case that has already been decided.
Perhaps there is the urgent need for the CJN’s intervention here if sanity must be restored and due process followed to the letter.
The mood of the nation at the moment cannot brood any form of disruption in economic activities, probably occasioned by fuel scarcity. That is why government’s intervention to nip the proposed industrial action by NUPENG in the bud early enough, to avoid social and economic disruptions.