Well, I must tell you that the whole industry has been abused by those placed in positions to make and implement policies as well as the supervisory bodies. One thing about Nigeria is that we have several laws everywhere, but at the end of the day, we do not have clear-cut responsibilities for different agencies that would implement these laws; that has created the gap we find ourselves in now. Think about a situation where Immigration Services is doing something different from what the Internal Affairs Ministry is doing. Ordinarily, they are supposed to work in tandem with one another.

That is why the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN)has been saying: Let us try as much as possible to decentralise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)and get the agencies that would be created to do what is to be done to place the industry on the proper pedestal for development.

However, the struggle PENGASSAN is going to be staging from now on as regards the multinationals is to come strongly to say that white men cannot treat Nigerians like slaves. We are saying the National Assembly should wake up to their responsibilities too and ensure that the Ministry of Internal Affairs gives the policy directive for anybody that is coming to work in Nigeria and not leave it the way it is now.

There must be some procedures that must be followed, not a blanket approval for foreigners to gain entry into the country to work. They must comply with the provisions of the Petroleum Act, like what is their area of specialty, and the specific person that would understudy the so-called expatriates, and so on. These are some of the things that we would be considering. We are going to be sitting down with both Labour and government to carry out expatriate audit from company to company and see the level of adherence to the requirements as spelt out in the Petroleum Act.

If not, we would keep talking about no job for Nigerians, while foreigners have taken up all such job opportunities.

We are not saying we are not in a global world. But then, somebody cannot give out what he does not have. They must give us the expertise they have. One does not bring in some white men to come and learn from Nigerians, and turn around to tell us that he is an expatriate. We want to give our own quota by giving information at our disposal, because we are there. We are going to use that opportunity to create jobs for Nigerians and ensure that those that are not relevant leave our shores. That is why the Chevron problem has been recurring, though we are still talking with them.

What PENGASSAN is saying is: How many white men do they have working there? How many do we really need? What is the cost of these expatriates to Nigeria? These are pertinent questions that must be answered.

It has been a great concern. One knows that after the mergers and acquisitions, those who seem to be strong came into being. These multinationals have always been complaining that the approval is delayed, and the budget is not approved on time. So, most times what happens? Nothing! We just pray that what happened to our refineries should not happen to these multinationals, because immediately a particular thing is supposed to be done and it is not done on time, the integrity of the facilities collapses, thereby exposing them to more danger. As this happens, it means the lives of our members are being exposed to danger as well, should anything happen. In most of these organisations one sees leakages that need repairs, but are not done in good time.

For example, in ExxonMobil today, one would see the situation of the structures our members are working there. So, government agencies must wake up to their responsibilities.

Take, for instance, one who is supposed to visit ExxonMobil from DPR on routine monitoring and inspection, one finds out that ExxonMobil is saddled with the responsibility of flying this person to the location, when ExxonMobil is not even supposed to be aware that someone from DPR was visiting.

So, when one is visiting to audit or investigate an official and the official is already aware, the official would prepare for the visit so that when one comes one would find no fault. And that is why one is saying that the Petroleum Inspectorate Department (PID)should be empowered to carry out their functions of supervising and monitoring the industry.

When one is talking about Nigerians working in ExxonMobil, one must know that he who pays the piper dictates the tune. These guys work for a company that pays them salary. The issue is that the multinationals should promptly pay their share of 40 percent equity, while the Federal government pays its 60 percent, and not where the government pays and the firms use the money to run the business as if it is theirs. The Nigerian government must be responsible, by ensuring that there is an accountable way of doing business. One would see in a company, the managing director is a white man; the head of finance is also a white man. They are just managing the place as if it is their sole investment, void of our nationals.

We have cried a lot about the local content policy and we are saying it should be all encompassing. It is not a matter of just looking at it and saying what are the things we produce in Nigeria that are going to be used. But, when we are talking about this issue, both men and materials and their inputs are considered. The design and construction of some of the facilities are done by Nigerians. We can nationalize this concept, because the technology is made in Nigeria. We want to see that development in terms of value, infrastructure and technicality as well as manpower.

So, at the end of the day PENGASSAN wants Nigeria to engage all stakeholders in these areas because we have been paying lip service to the issue of local content.

Two problems still remain unsolved - the Niger Delta crisis and the gas flare out end date. What would one proffer as solution to these problems?

What we are saying is this: Engage all the stakeholders, because we have discovered that some of them are free to attend meetings, while some are not.

Despite our efforts, the neglect of the past are haunting us today. But, the fact remains that the system must be made to work. We have excess crude oil account shared everyday. So, if they are sharing money and one is applying the money on the execution of capital projects, or if one says okay, this is excess crude oil money and for the first two years, we have the political will that we want to use this money to develop the Niger Delta and everyone see the reality in it, then, people will understand. But, if one would continue to organize meetings in the next two to three years on how to develop the areas, then we would know that one is not serious.

Several meetings have been held on this issue, but they end up spending Nigerian money without anything to show. I think what we need now is not meetings.

Individuals and government can make a difference. If we have the Third Mainland bridge in Lagos and other such beautiful facilities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja , we can also have them in the Niger Delta. When I say Third Mainland Bridge, I mean a bridge that can link Buguma, Degema and the whole of Bayelsa State. Since the resources are from there, award the contract without even going there and let the people feel the impulse of government.

The people will know its their own and so make conscious efforts to ensure the success of the project, because if the contract is awarded and the locals will not allow the contractors to work then the bridge will not be built and the whole world will know that the local communities are not ready for the development of their area.

With regards to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the government has not shown much commitment and the multinationals must have direct responsibility because they are the ones that feel the pain most any time there is an attack, it is either Chevron, ExxonMobil or Shell, because they have not shown enough responsibility to the welfare of the people, even though they also contribute money to the NDDC.

So, there is the need to review the policy. What are the responsibilities of the multinationals? Do we reduce the amount they contribute to the NDDC, or add to it, so that they would be more responsible to the locality where they work?

The Federal Government too is holding on to the money it owes the NDDC. This must be paid. The Commission is involved in the business other than what they should be doing. It should not be building primary and secondary schools. These should be done by the local and state governments, because they are paid enough money to carry out these kinds of projects. The NDDC should be allowed to focus on areas that touch on the lives of the people.

Government must show adequate commitment. One cannot keep money in foreign reserves when one-'s house is burning. Now it is attacks here and there. Must we wait for there to be a full blown war before concrete steps are taken to address the situation? No, now is time to do something.

The gas flare-out date is a topical issue that has occupied most of the discussions in the industry. That is why we said we would still engage the government. What am saying is that the penalty should be more to deter the multinationals from continuing to flare gas. All we need is commitment on the part of the stakeholders and more investment. This wasted product could be used to develop our nation. We know what we lose by just flaring the gas. So, when they are made to pay heavy fines for flaring, they would stop act, because if they continue to flare the gas. We pay double to produce the one we need. However, we have other recommendations to make as we engage the stakeholders, because, as an association, we want to ensure that both the government and multinationals do the right thing.

We did not shy away from it. We are waiting for any contrary information, despite the fact that Shell has distributed letters to those who want to leave. Those who have said they are not going are still working there, and we are not going to give another warning, because we have given one before, and we are not going to discuss with anybody on that matter.

If anybody forces our members to leave their employment, we would act. If Shell management goes ahead, then they would face the consequences, both the government and the DPR are aware of our position. Somebody cannot work for one and at the end of the day one is sent away without any consideration. Somebody has served the company without committing any crime and then one is asked to go just like that. This is not acceptable.

We have this problem, because our refineries are not working and everyone knows the history of our refineries. Some time ago, they were sold and later they were taken back by the government. The fact remains that we need more than what we have now. We need to even take care of the white products of the whole of Africa. So, why should we be importing refined petroleum products?

So, the focus should be on maintaining the ones we have now. Somebody should be given the opportunity to run them as a commercially viable venture, because at present the way the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)is running the refineries leaves much to be desired. Just like we have the Joint Venture operations in the upstream sector of the petroleum industry, we should equally have it in the downstream. Multinationals should not be interested in only how to make quick money from Nigeria. They should also be showing interest in developing the nation. Our laws must change to reflect this. The current price of diesel is as a result of the inefficiency of some people in the system, because everything is built into the template; the cost of transportation, the bridging cost, tax, among others, and the burden is shifted to the consumer. It will not work like that.

But, he government says it has been subsidizing the prices of fuel to the tune of N500 billion?

Currently, the country is wasting about $10 billion on subsidy of petroleum products without anything to show for it. Am sure that money could be used to build some refineries, but it is being paid to other countries. Organized Labour too must be involved with other unions, and we must be serious for the government to meet our demands. We have been going on strike for the past nine years over fuel price increases, has it solved our problems? No. We need to be more pragmatic and realistic in our approach to these issues, because we have wasted a lot of money already.

Government should subsidise, but I think it must give us more refineries. That, one would think, would solve the problem, such that if there is going to be any subsidy at all, it would go round the Nigerian economy and we would be buying from ourselves.

Remember that African Petroleum (AP)just recently launched the campaign to be selling kerosene at N50 per litre. It tells one that the cartels are there. It tells one that we can do more than that. It tells one that they are buying at N41 per litre ex-depot and then somebody goes out and sells at N80 per litre. The problem we have is that those who do not have a filling station or the facilities gets products, and they always want to maximize profit, hence, the ugly situation we find ourselves.