The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has announced measures to address the alleged anti-labour practices of Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company (SEEPCO).
The board also highlighted Sterling Oil’s repeated violations of local content directives, emphasizing its commitment to sanctioning companies that blatantly disregard the provisions of its laws.
Last week, members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), led by their president, Festus Osifo, staged a protest at SEEPCO’s headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos, over the company’s alleged mistreatment of workers and abuse of the expatriate quota system. Osifo accused Sterling Oil’s management of using expatriates to fill positions that qualified Nigerian workers could easily perform, resulting in discriminatory practices.
In a statement on Monday, the NCDMB praised Osifo for recognizing that qualified Nigerian personnel occupy key leadership and technical positions in both international and indigenous oil and gas companies, and that they are excelling in those roles. The board attributed these successes to its strategic enforcement of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD) of 2010, including the Expatriate Quota, Succession Plan, Deployment of Expatriates Guidelines, and Temporary Work Permit Guidelines.
The NCDMB expressed gratitude to PENGASSAN for bringing the alleged abuse of the expatriate quota system by Sterling Oil to light. The board assured the union and the public that it would conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and take appropriate action.
The NCDMB also confirmed that it had previously sanctioned SEEPCO for serious violations of the NOGICD Act and had recently begun engaging the company for similar issues.
