Oil workers under the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG),and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have faulted the decision by the new management of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to recruit some external staff outside the organisation.
President Bola Tinubu had last week announced the appointment of Mr Bayo Ojulari as the new GCEO of the NNPC and Ahmadu Kida as non-executive chairman.
The unions expressed their greivances through a letter t on Monday, wherein they queried why the Company’s Group Executive Council (GEC) would prefer to fill top management position with externally recruited personnel and leaving out internal staff members.
In the letter addressed to the NNPC Chief Human Resources Officer, the oil workers insisted that they cannot accept or support the recruitment of senior management staff from outside the company.
The letter, titled ‘Filling of top management positions in NNPC Limited with externally recruited personnel is unacceptable to PENGASSAN and NUPENG GEC’, was signed by GEC Secretary at PENGASSAN, Amaoge Chukwudi; its chairman, Solomon Orieji; and the GEC Secretary at NUPENG, Paulosa Paulosa and its chairman, Baba Kaumi.
The unions said:“We extend our warm congratulations to the newly appointed Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) and Board Members of NNPC Limited. We wish them success in their new roles and pray for excellence in their assignments.
“However, we must draw urgent attention to a matter of serious concern to avert avoidable consequences. Based on past experiences, we have observed a recurring trend whenever a new GCEO is appointed externally – the temptation to fill top management positions with external recruitment rather than promoting staff members from within NNPC Ltd.
“As a matter of caution, we must state clearly that we cannot accept, accommodate, or support the recruitment of senior and Management staff from outside NNPC Limited and that any plan in such direction be stopped immediately,” the letter read in part.
According to the unions, NNPC Limited is home to thousands of experienced, competent, and dedicated Nigerian professionals across various fields.
They maintained that these individuals, who include their members, have dedicated quality years to sustaining the legacies of the company and are eager to take on higher responsibilities.
They said:“Denying them career advancement opportunities and overlooking them in favor of external recruitment is grossly unjust and wasteful, and it will also disrupt the company’s steady progress towards greater profitability and efficiency.
“We must therefore caution against any unjust action that undermines the career growth of deserving staff members of our company. If this warning is ignored, we cannot guarantee the continuation of industrial harmony within NNPC Limited.”
They warned that the letter serves to put the management and the Board of NNPC Limited on notice that PENGASSAN and NUPENG categorically reject any recruitment or appointment of senior or management staff above the SS6 cadre (specifically within the SS5 to M2 cadre) from outside the organisation.
“Any attempt to do so will be met with strong resistance, including a total shutdown of operations. Please accept our assurances of continued support and regards,” they added.
