The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN president has been confirmed dead. The deceased, Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson, passed on in the early hours of Friday.

A statement issued by the Association’s National Executive Council (NEC) and Central Working Committee (CWC) confirmed his death.

Comrade Johnson died after a brief illness in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. According to a source, he complained of a headache before he died. The source said,

“He (Johnson) died at midnight in Port Harcourt after he complained of a sudden headache.

“We tried to battle his life but before we knew it what happened, he had given up the ghost”.

 

PENGASSAN’s Deputy President and General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, Frank Esanubi shed more light in a statement they jointly signed.

“We announce the untimely and painful death of Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson, President PENGASSAN in the early hours of Friday, 31st May 2019 at National Hospital Abuja, after a brief illness.

 

“Late Comrade F. O. Johnson, until his passing on, was a staff of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and was on the final lap of his eventful and transformational six years tenure as President PENGASSAN, having been elected to that position in June 2014 and re-elected in 2017.

 

“Comrade Johnson will be remembered by his comrades, co-workers, family and friends for being thoughtful, humorous, compassionate and transparent as he touched the lives of so many and was the very embodiment of strength, patience and perseverance.

 

“These attributes propelled him to develop a deep connection with nature, zest for life and the total transformation of PENGASSAN National Secretariat, and initiating the e-library and Events Resources Centres in all of our Zonal offices.

 

“His joyous laughter and giving spirit will forever be ingrained in our memories. Burial rites will be communicated to the general public as soon as we receive information from the family.”

Johnson, an employee of the NNPC, saw the reelection into the office of president for a second term of three years that will have terminated in 2020.

He also led the members of PENGASSAN against the privatisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Furthermore, Comrade Johnson led the struggle for the reform of the Nigerian oil sector.