The Federal Government has vowed to checkmate the activities of oil companies in the Niger Delta area and ensure they comply with the laws of the land.

Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum), Odein Ajumogobia, made government's position known, when officials of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas workers (NUPENG), visited him in Abuja at the weekend.

Led by its National President, Peter Akpatason, NUPENG condemned contract staffing, redundancy, abuse of expatriate quota, poor state of infrastructures at the depots, among others ills in oil companies in Nigeria.

Akpatason lamented that virtually 60-70 percent of the workers in the oil and gas industry were casuals, adding that some of them are owed over seven months' salary.

Responding, the minister charged, "As a matter of policy, this administration will not tolerate shoddy treatment of Nigerians, in violation of the laws of the land.

"Some of these laws might need amendment, but, redundancy means non-availability of the job. You cannot under redundancy, fire somebody and bring in another person to do the same job. It means the job still existed in the first place."

He requested the union to furnish his office details of issues that requires consultations with the labour ministry.