NEWS
Agip Retirees Lament over 17 Years Outstanding Pension after Oando Takeover
Former staff members of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (Oando Energy Resources Nigeria Limited), have staged a peaceful protest demanding payment of their pension salary, which has not been paid in the last 17 years.
The senior citizens, who protested under the platform, Agip Oil Company Pensioners Association of Nigeria (AOCPAN), accused the management of the company of unilaterally stopping the payment without any reason. The retirees, who brandished placards with different inscriptions, lamented that their members were dying in numbers because of hardship and inability to meet their daily needs.
They condemned the inhumanity of Oando’s management towards the vulnerable retirees, stressing that the company has blocked its gate concerning any issues about the retirees.
Some of their demands are: “Oando management is strategically out to exterminate the retirees through zero welfare support for the retirees.
“Oando bought the assets and liabilities of Agip; but, has trickishly taken the assets and abandoned the major liabilities – the retirees of Agip that bought.”
Chairman of the group, Engr. Elder Paul Sito, who addresses newsmen at the front of the company in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, alleged spouses of late retirees were denied access to medical services which are supposed to be for lifetime.
According to Elder Paul, the management of the company does not have a welfare plan for the retirees, adding that senior citizens have been abandoned without any economic and welfare support.
ALSO READ: Loss of 5 Rigs Threaten Govt’s Revenue
Speaking further, the chairman claimed that the management has refused to follow the steps of other companies concerning retirees’ welfare.
He said: “The reasons for the protest are many; we were retirees of Agip Oil Company and as a retiree, there is a pension act concerning retirees. There are welfare and pension monthly payments for these retirees. We received this pension welfare or pension salary for years until it stopped in 2009.
“Management unilaterally stopped it. We don’t even know why, they gave us reasons that are not obtainable in the world, the reason is that because a new management came, they were looking for documents to show that the payment they have been doing should continue (a payment that they were making should continue, they are looking for a document to approve that payment) and because they didn’t see it they stopped unilaterally?”
Paul explained further: “And the association picked it up, when the association was so new and its major focus was on increase in minimum wage, which they continued with the management.
And at that time, we never had what we now call (HIPAN) Hydrocarbon Industry Pensioners Association of Nigeria – the gathering of all the five companies’ retirement representatives.
“They meet and check their books to see who is doing less and who is doing more, so that those who are doing less will go back to their management and inform them appropriately like it has always been done when we were in service and that continued until 2009 when they stopped it.
“Up till today, we have never gotten a dime. In 2023, we came out like this and they gave us 1% or less; in 2024, we also came out, they gave us another half of 1%; and now, they have cut short the welfare for our deceased spouses which was supposed to be for life, they have cut it short to two years.”
The chairman emphasized: “We are asking them to reinstate it. It is for life, every other IOC (International Oil Company) is serving for life. “We are saying whatever the retirees of each of these companies get during negotiations should be applied to the retirees in Oando.”
He lamented: “All this while, we have been suffering, we have written letters to them telling them that we want to meet so that we can give them our charter of demand; we did that last year July. they replied that okay, they have heard from us officially, that they’ll go and look for it, they went and kept looking at it for months. When our letters will not be replied anymore.
“We planned to come out and they heard of it and they immediately called us for a meeting. We went and they still promised us and up till now, they brought nothing. The other oil companies are increasing pensioners salaries every year, but here, it’s a different story.”
One of the retirees, who simply gave her name as Mrs. Regina, lamented that the stipend they receive from the company is of no value to the current economic condition in the country.
High Chief Oluwa Oluwaneye said: “You can see me, I was not like this, I was a good player and a good wrestler and now what God gave to me to satisfy my family, I can’t provide it again because of the condition.
“I entered this Agip in 1955. He (owner of Oando) said he is fit to buy the company; he should know that the people who worked in the company and gave him the power to come and buy, he should empower them.”
Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja for Jos, Plateau State, alongside his wife, Hajiya Nana Shettima, ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign rally in the state.
The visit is part of the Tinubu–Shettima campaign’s engagements as the ruling party seeks to secure support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Shettima ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The campaign’s visit to Plateau is expected to highlight the Federal Government’s infrastructure and economic development projects in the state, particularly those aimed at improving road connectivity, boosting commerce and supporting agricultural activities.
SEE ALSO: Tinubu, Shettima Head to Jos for APC Presidential Campaign Rally
Among the projects highlighted by the administration is the ongoing 125-kilometre Akwanga–Jos highway, which forms part of the Akwanga–Bauchi–Gombe–Maiduguri Superhighway.
Other projects include the rehabilitation of the Sharram–Garram–Babban Lamba Road in Kanke and the approved Mararaban Jama’a–Kanke–Langtang–Shendam–Ibi Road, which is expected to improve connectivity between Plateau and Taraba states.
The administration says the projects are part of its broader development agenda to connect communities, facilitate access to markets and provide farmers and businesses with improved infrastructure.
The APC campaign is expected to use the rally to present the administration’s achievements and future plans while seeking the confidence of Plateau residents to continue its development agenda beyond 2027.
The Ogun State Police Command has presented cheques totalling ₦10.65 million to families and next-of-kin of deceased police officers who served under the command, as part of efforts to support dependants of personnel who died in active service.
The cheques, amounting to ₦10,658,391.36, were presented on Saturday, November 14, 2026, by the Commissioner of Police, CP Bode Ojajuni, on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu.
The statement was signed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Command, DSP Oluseyi B. Babaseyi, anipr, and dated November 14, 2026.
ALSO READ: How Ogun Driver Allegedly Stole Boss’s ₦45m Lexus and Plotted to Sell It for ₦10m in Cotonou
The presentation took place at the Command Headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta, under the Nigeria Police Force Group Life Assurance and the IGP Family Welfare Schemes.
The initiatives are designed to provide financial assistance to families of police officers who lost their lives while serving the country.
Accompanied by members of the Command Management Team, Ojajuni personally handed over the cheques to the beneficiaries.
Addressing the recipients, the police commissioner reaffirmed the Inspector-General’s commitment to the welfare of police personnel and their families.
He described the widows and families of the deceased officers as the “true superheroes”, acknowledging their resilience in coping with the loss of their loved ones who died in service to the nation.
Ojajuni noted that the financial intervention was a demonstration of the Force’s appreciation and institutional responsibility to support the families of fallen officers.
He said the initiative represented the Nigeria Police Force’s enduring commitment to standing by the dependants of personnel who paid the ultimate price in active service.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Ejembi Ada Veronica thanked the Inspector-General of Police and the Ogun State Police Command for remembering their families and providing financial assistance.
She assured the authorities that the money would be channelled towards the education, upkeep and general welfare of the children and dependants left behind by the deceased officers.
According to her, the intervention would provide timely relief and help improve the stability of the affected families.
The Ogun State Police Command reiterated its commitment to supporting the families of fallen officers, assuring them of its continued solidarity.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has screened 28 oil and gas wells around reported gas seepage locations in Bille Community, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, identifying three as high-risk, as investigations continue to establish the source of the bubbling gas.
The Commission disclosed that its investigation team physically visited 14 of the 28 wells screened but could not access three others because they were submerged. During the visits, the team observed gas hissing from some wells, while some facilities were found to be corroded and others vandalised.
ALSO READ: Rig Count Hits 100, as NUPRC Approves 740 Drilling Jobs
The update was made on Thursday during a special technical paper presentation at the 44th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE).
The paper, titled “Unravelling Gas Seepage and Bubbling in Nigeria: The Integrated Study Approach Towards Source Attribution,” was hosted by the NUPRC.
In his presentation, the Director of Subsurface Development at the NUPRC, Engr. Joseph Ogunsola, FNSE, described gas seepage as a new phenomenon in the Nigerian petroleum industry, prompting the Commission to constitute a team to investigate what lies beneath the bubbles.
Ogunsola was represented by the Senior Manager, Onshore Frontier Development Drilling, Mr. Azibamikiomam John-Adumo, a geologist.
He disclosed that studies conducted in one of the affected areas had helped unravel the structural threat associated with the phenomenon.
According to him, one of the wells was originally drilled in search of oil but was shut down following the discovery of gas instead.
He explained that the well is approximately 2.5 kilometres from the seepage location, adding that investigations are ongoing to establish whether the seepage originates from that particular well or other nearby wells.
He further disclosed that the distance between the seepage location and other wells ranges from 2.5 to three kilometres, noting that the area is highly explored and hydrocarbon-charged, as demonstrated by the number of wells in the vicinity.
Providing an update on the wells workstream, which falls under the facility and infrastructure component of the investigation, John-Adumo said the 28 wells were screened based on their proximity to the seepage locations and the reservoirs traversed during drilling.
He also explained that the investigation had progressed from the first reported bubble to an independent fingerprinting campaign within 12 months.
Recalling that the first seepage was observed in October 2025, he said the results of the independent investigation, using Gas Chromatography-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (GC-IRMS) and compositional field analysis, were expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
While investigations continue, John-Adumo said the Commission and operators had mobilised relief materials and other support for affected communities.
The interventions include food supplies, medical outreach, efforts to provide potable water, fire vans and safety kits, among other assistance.
He, however, warned that if the seepage is established to be a natural geological phenomenon, residents may need to be evacuated because tracing the migration pathways and designing subsurface interventions could be much more challenging.
He reiterated the Commission’s commitment to a speedy, coordinated and integrated investigation to establish the source of the gas seepage.
40% of Breadmakers Shut Down as Atiku Accuses Tinubu of Economic Failure
ADC Fires Back at NBA Over Kalu, Says ‘No Respectful Way to Address Evil’
INEC Debunks Amupitan Resignation Rumour After London Protest, Voter Register Controversy
Chevron Nigeria Emerges Second-best Exhibitor at NAPE 2026
NGX Gains 1.36% as Market Capitalisation Climbs to ₦163.80trn
Shettima, Wife Depart Abuja for Jos as Tinubu–Shettima Campaign Takes Rally to Plateau
Trump’s Family Unveils New Cryptocurrency Platform
Senate Denies Receiving Petitions Against Tinubu’s Ambassadorial Nominees
Dangote Cement Lights Up Benue Host Communities With CSR Initiatives
Reps Recommend 3-year Jail Term For Aviation minister
Tems Sets New Record On Billboard Hot 100 Chart
