Oil workers storm AMCON

Disengaged oil workers of the SeaWolf Oil Field on Monday stormed the offices of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) paralyzing business activities.
They barricaded the entrance of the office protesting over the failure of AMCON to pay their entitlements which they claimed was in the range of N5bn to N7bn.
The workers lamented that despite assurances that the corporation would pay their entitlements after taking over their company-Offshore Management Services, such promises had yet to be fulfilled.
Spokesman for the protesters, Mr. Victor Ekundayo said that the agreement reached with the corporation was that their salaries would be paid by AMCON following the takeover of the company two years ago.
He said,” We have had several meetings with the Ministry of Petroleum, Labour and Productivity. Ministry of Finance had to intervene, insisting that AMCON pay the claims. AMCON even called us to say they will pay, yet nothing has been done.
“AMCON took over our facility in 2013 because SeaWolf was indebted to a lot of commercial banks. They did so without settling the workers.

Read also: NUPENG, AMCON square up over unpaid N3billion salaries

“The standard in the oil and gas is that for whatever reason a company is taken, workers must be paid their terminal benefits, which AMCON has refused to do.
“Before we came here, we took our grievances to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and to Ministry of Labour and Productivity. They all asked AMCON to pay us our entitlements”.
Ekundayo, alleged that the situation had led to the death and hospitalisation of some of their colleagues
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, AMCON, Mr Kayode Lambo said the protest staged by the former workers was illegal due to a court injunction stopping them from doing so.
He said, “I cannot tell you what AMCON is doing to address the situation because the case has been taken to court and doing so will be prejudice.”

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