PENGASSAN: Poverty Must Be Tackled To Reduce Insecurity In Nigeria

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has warned that efforts to curb insecurity in Nigeria may remain difficult unless governments at all levels take urgent steps to reduce poverty and improve citizens’ living conditions.

The association also called for the strengthening of local governments to make them more effective and responsive to the needs of people at the grassroots.

PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, made the remarks at a dinner organised to honour former leaders of the association for their contributions to its growth since its establishment in 1978.

The event brought together former presidents, deputy presidents, general secretaries, zonal chairmen, zonal secretaries and other former national officers.

Osifo said the economic hardship confronting Nigerians was affecting not only workers but also their families, relatives, neighbours and wider communities.

He explained that even workers with relatively stable incomes were facing increasing financial pressure because many were supporting unemployed relatives and other people struggling to survive.

According to him, a worker could earn a reasonable salary but still find a significant portion of the income consumed by the responsibility of assisting financially distressed people around them.

The PENGASSAN president said this demonstrated that the impact of economic hardship extended beyond organised labour.

He noted that while the union’s primary responsibility was to protect the jobs, wages and welfare of its members, it could not remain indifferent to broader economic challenges affecting Nigerians.

FG, States And Local Governments Must Act

Osifo urged the Federal Government, state governments and local councils to work together to tackle poverty and improve the standard of living.

He said reducing poverty required political commitment and concrete actions rather than promises, stressing that every level of government had a role to play.

The labour leader particularly expressed concern over the poor state of local government administration in the country.

He described local governments as the level of government closest to the people and argued that they should provide citizens with an effective channel for demanding accountability and solutions to problems within their communities.

Osifo, however, lamented that many local governments had become ineffective, leaving residents without a functional grassroots system capable of responding to their basic needs.

He maintained that the weakness of local government administration had contributed to the persistence of poverty and other social challenges.

He therefore called for reforms that would make local governments more effective, accountable and responsive to citizens.

Poverty And Insecurity Linked

The PENGASSAN president warned that tackling insecurity would remain challenging if widespread poverty continued to worsen.

He urged governments to show the political will needed to implement policies that would create decent economic opportunities and improve living conditions.

Osifo stressed that poverty reduction should form a key part of the country’s strategy for addressing insecurity, noting that citizens with access to sustainable livelihoods and basic necessities would be less vulnerable to pressures that could fuel social unrest and criminality.

Speaking on the purpose of the dinner, he said the gathering was organised to recognise the sacrifices and achievements of former PENGASSAN leaders.

He noted that the former officials played significant roles in building the association and had continued to support its growth by providing guidance and advice to the current leadership.

Osifo described the awards presented to the former leaders as tokens of appreciation for their contributions and sacrifices.

He added that successive administrations had continued to build on the foundation established by previous leaders, making the gathering an opportunity to celebrate the association’s history while recognising the continued contributions of its former officials.

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