Organised labour in the oil and gas sector, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), have criticised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited’s (NNPCL) plans to fill top management positions with externally recruited people.
The two unions have expressed their readiness to mobilise against the organisation if it fails to rescind the decision because external recruitment undermines the growth and development of existing employees.
The unions called on the new management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to immediately rescind its recent appointments to top company positions.
The General Secretary of NUPENG, Comrade Afolabi Olawale and PENGASSAN Secretary General, Comrade Lumumba Okungbowa, who made the call, cited the move as a ploy to abuse the use of laid down rules which stated that such positions must be filled by internal and not external staff as the reason for their rejection.
According to the unions, filling top management positions with external people without consideration for those staff who have served the company is detrimental to them and affects their growth.
The unions recalled that Dr Kachukwu, as the head of the company in 2015, made the same blunder, which yielded no positive results.
NUPENG/PENGASSAN, therefore, demanded an immediate reversal of the appointments to prevent any industrial action, as their members have been put on alert for possible industrial action.
The two unions congratulated President Bola Tinubu on the appointment of the new chief executive and Board members of NNPCL and wished them well in their new positions.
