The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr William Nwankwo, has described late president of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Francis Johnson as a stabilising factor during industrial actions.
Nwankwo made this known on Monday when he led members of the ministry on a condolence visit to the union in its liaison office in Abuja.
He said the leadership style of the late president brought good industrial relations that helped the ministry in the time past.
“I call him the stabilising person because throughout his stay we had peace concerning the union,” he said.
The permanent secretary said the death of the president came as a shock to the ministry, adding that death is inevitable as everyone must taste it. “We strongly believe that the time for Johnson to answer the call has come; we have no doubt in our hearts that he is in heaven,” he said.
Nwankwo appealed to the union not to allow the family to suffer and promised on behalf of the ministry to do all they could to support the family.
He also urged the union leadership to maintain the industrial peace that late Johnson left behind.
The Acting President of the Union, Mr Frank Esanubi, commended the leadership of the ministry for the visit. Esanubi promised that the union would do everything it could to maintain the industrial peace that Johnson left behind. He said the leadership of the union had met to discuss how to take care of the family.
“There will be a trust fund to cater for the education of the children to tertiary level. We promised to do our best to see that the family will not feel any material need,” he said.
