NUPENG, PENGASSAN vow to oppose splitting of NNPC

The two major labour unions in the oil and gas industry, NUPENG and PENGASSAN have opposed plans by government to split the NNPC into 30 companies.

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) both kicked against the moves by government to unbundle the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into 30 companies, stating that the move was illegal.

Both unions in separate statements Monday said that such moves will provoke industrial unrest in the country, as it was a veiled move to lay off oil and gas workers.

NUPENG in its statement signed by its Acting General Secretary, Joseph Ogbebor, said: “We condemn the unilateral action of the Minister of State, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, as the decision is not in consonance with the laws establishing the NNPC. The unbundling and rebranding of NNPC as announced by the Minister of State is another public policy change which is not consistent with the Act and Laws establishing NNPC and will be resisted by Oil and Gas workers in the country.”

Read also: FG to unbundle NNPC into 30 companies

He said that NUPENG will not tolerate a situation whereby the unbundled companies will now hide under the cover to start disengaging its workers, since job creation and job security has been the change mantra of the current administration.

According to him, “the move is to kill the NNPC by all means but that government officials should know that the Corporation is a creation of law and that it will take the repealing of the original Act to effect the changes that they are planning to do.

PENGASSAN, also in a statement by its Acting General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, said for the government to do anything with the current NNPC, the Act setting it up must either be repealed or amended to accommodate the planned restructuring.

According to him, “The Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, that is expected to be the legal instrument for the ongoing reforms of the Oil and Gas industry will be meaningless if the government should introduce plans outside the reforms, The PIB is germane to the development of the nation’s Oil and Gas Industry.”

 

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