Plans by the new management of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited(NNPCL) to recruit external staff outside the organisation have put it at odds with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers(NUPENG) as well as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN).
It will be recalled that the Nigerian President announced last week the appointment of Mr Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC and Ahmadu Kida as non-executive chairman, a development which brought an end to the tenure of Mele Kyari and board chairman Pius Akinyelure at the apex oil firm in Nigeria.
Both unions expressed their grievances in a letter sent on Monday, in which they questioned why the company’s Group Executive Council, GEC, would prefer to fill top management positions with externally recruited personnel, thus excluding internal staff members.
In a letter dated 4 April and addressed to the NNPC Chief Human Resources Officer, NUPENG and PENGASSAN 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 and chairman, Solomon Orieji; and the GEC Secretary at NUPENG, Paulosa Paulosa, alongside its chairman, Baba Kaumi. They also copied the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, the Executive Vice President, Business Services, NNPCL, and the presidents of PENGASSAN and NUPENG.
“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 this direction should be stopped immediately,” the letter read in part.
The unions stated that NNPCL is home to thousands of experienced, competent, and dedicated Nigerian professionals across various fields. They argued that these individuals, many of whom are their members, have devoted many years to sustaining the legacies of the company and are eager to take on higher responsibilities.
“Denying them career advancement opportunities and overlooking them in favour 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 stated in the letter.
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,” the letter concluded.
