Seven months of unpaid salaries for support staff at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) have triggered disagreement among energy stakeholders, with some demanding urgent intervention while others question the justification for maintaining a large workforce at a refinery operating below capacity.
The affected workers recently protested over the salary arrears, appealing to President Bola Tinubu to intervene.
They alleged that support staff were owed seven months’ salaries, security contractors eight months, and cleaners nine months.
Energy expert and lecturer, Dr. Joseph Obele, condemned the situation, describing it as unfair and unacceptable, and called on the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Federal Government to resolve the crisis.
Obele also expressed concern over the reported monthly salary of about N156,000 for support staff, arguing that the amount was inadequate given the cost of living and the demands of working at a strategic national asset.
He questioned why permanent employees were reportedly receiving their salaries while support staff, cleaners and security personnel remained unpaid for months.
‘If there is money to pay one category, there should be a clear explanation why another category remains unpaid,’ he said.
Obele argued that workers should not bear the consequences of the refinery’s operational difficulties, insisting that their welfare should be addressed regardless of the facility’s production status.
He also said workers had alleged that the refinery coordinator promised a new salary structure from October 2026, urging management to implement any approved changes without further delay.
The energy expert further called on management to consider the workers’ request for a N1 million housing or rent relief package per support staff member, subject to applicable welfare policies.
He cited a reported disparity between the approximately N2 million earned by the least-paid NNPCL staff at the facility and the N156,000 received by support workers, saying the gap required urgent examination.
‘You cannot build a successful refinery on unpaid workers. The refinery may be temporarily unproductive, but workers should not be made the casualties of that situation,’ he said.
Obele urged the protesting workers to remain peaceful and called for an urgent meeting involving the refinery coordinator, relevant authorities and labour representatives to settle the arrears and restore confidence.
However, another energy expert, Rasheed Adeleke, said the salary dispute reflected deeper problems in Nigeria’s refinery management, questioning the resources spent on maintaining facilities that had failed to deliver expected output.
He argued that the government needed to account for the substantial expenditure on refinery maintenance and personnel despite limited refining performance.
‘We pay billions to maintain a refinery that does not work, we pay permanent staff to manage failure, and now we are arguing about paying support staff to clean idle machines and guard empty tanks,’ Adeleke said.
He called for an audit of manpower and contract staff at PHRC, insisting that Nigerians deserved to know the value being obtained from the resources committed to maintaining the facility.
Adeleke also questioned the number of workers required to maintain the refinery during periods of limited operations, saying a review could help establish appropriate staffing levels and accountability.
Another analyst, Bola Joseph, opposed the workers’ demand, arguing that maintaining and paying all categories of staff while the refinery was not operating optimally could encourage redundancy.
‘If the refinery is not working, there is no justification to keep paying all categories of workers,’ he said, adding that the government should consider reducing the workforce rather than increasing salaries or approving additional allowances without clear justification.
The dispute highlights the tension between workers’ welfare and concerns about the management of public resources at the refinery.
The affected workers were reportedly still awaiting payment as of the period following their last public protest on October 6, with stakeholders divided over whether the immediate priority should be settling salary arrears, reviewing staffing arrangements or addressing the refinery’s operational challenges.