Oil Workers To Buhari: Look Into NNPC Reforms, Let There Be Equity And Fairness

In reaction to recent plans to overhaul activities at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as well as other revenue generation agencies in Nigeria, oil workers have described some actions of the corporation as unfair and vindictive.
The workers have called upon President Muhammadu Buhari to help put an end to the incessant dismissals at the NNPC.
Speaking collectively under the umbrella of the National Union Of Petroleum And Natural Gas Senior Staff Association Of Nigeria (NUPENGASSAN), the workers have demanded an instant inquiry into the actions of the group managing director of the NNPC, Emmanuel Kachikwu.
They alleged that Kachikwu has been unfair and vindictive since coming to the corporation, and described a display of wanton dismissals aimed at unsettling the majority of oil workers.
Beyond the unchecked dismissals at the NNPC, further complaints are that Kachikwu has cut down the numbers at the upper echelon – 38 senior management staff have been retired – as well as reduced operational directorates from eight to four.
Speaking through the president of the Petroleum And Natural Gas Association Of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the association has sought the immediate attention of President Buhari.
Francis Johnson and Igwe Achese, both PENGASSAN and NUPENG presidents respectively, have voiced their dissatisfaction with the way and manner in which the NNPC has conducted its activities in recent times.
In a statement, they both accused the NNPC of witch-hunting oil workers, a move the unions see as both vindictive and anti-people.

‘While we are fully in support of the fight against corruption, the fight itself should not be turned against workers whom government swore to protect.
‘The ongoing exercise portends a great danger in the oil sector if workers are meant to bear the brunt of government’s current action where the fight against corruption is now being used as an act of vindictiveness against workers.
‘We dare the new GMD of NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to recover the stolen trillions of Naira in the sector than retiring and sacking of innocent workers. We are quite sure that the on-going action is not the idea of our dear President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR,’ the statement reads.
The union holds that the current spate of dismissals at the NNPC has the tendency to cause a wave of unemployment, one of the very challenges the current administration pledged to eliminate before getting into office.