PPPRA WORKERS DEMAND EXECUTIVE SECRETARY'S REMOVAL

The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Mr. Abiodun Ibikunle, is under fire from employees of the agency, who on Thursday wrote to the new Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, demanding that he be removed from office.

The workers, under the aegis of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, on Thursday wore red and black apparels, signifying dispute with their management, and barricaded the entrance to the agency's complex in Abuja, chanting solidarity songs.

An official of the union, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, explained that the grouse of the workers with the executive secretary bordered on pension issues, medical entitlements, promotions, failure to implement salary increment and non- implementation of the agency's budget.

He also alleged that Ibikunle did not resign from his former work place at the Department of Petroleum Resources, even after he was appointed the executive secretary of PPPRA in July 2009, and had continued to earn salary from the DPR.

According to him, 'He still collects salary from DPR. He does not collect salary from PPPRA.

'His name is not on the salary schedule.
Responding to some of the allegations, Ibikunle, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, on Thursday, said, 'If I was working somewhere else, which is also another organisation of government, should I not have a process for disengaging?

That process is already on and until that is completed, I cannot start drawing money from another source. Otherwise that will have been impediment.'

On outstanding entitlements, he said that is not true. Like in every other organisation, such things have processes. And the processes have been concluded, all that is left is to ensure that there are no mistake, to ensure that is very correct before we release it. Nobody is holding anything.

An organisation like PPPRA that has only personnel and overhead costs, how can they say we do not want to implement? We run the office, you see every facility in the office is working, they get their salary on time. So what else?

Their salary has never been delayed.