Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Ibe Kachikwu, on Wednesday in Abuja dismissed the assertion that the Federal Government had commenced the unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Kachikwu made this known while fielding questions from State House correspondents.
He said that what the corporation did was reorganisation of the corporation to achieve greater efficiency in the oil sector of the nation’s economy.
“We have not unbundled NNPC. We had a press conference yesterday where I explained this. What we have simply done is reorganisation. We have five business entities focused on business- Upstream, Downstream, Refineries, Gas and Power, that are there before.
“There is also ventures that capture all our little companies that were not having proper stewardship.
“They are run by individuals who report to the GMD. The NNPC is still a whole. There is nothing new that has happened.
“I have tried to explain this and I am sure the NNPC workers are members of the family, they will understand.
“We are going to have a meeting, and they will be made to understand. Perhaps the engagement has not been good enough.
“NNPC has not been unbundled in the sense of breaking up NNPC into distinct institutions. I am concerned.
“I don’t want the industry shut down. I am sure we are going to resolve the issues very soon,’’ he further explained.
Meanwhile, the two unions in the oil and gas sectors have faulted the process of unbundling the NNPC.
The unions, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) said the exercise did not follow due process.
Mr Sale Abdullahi, Group Chairman, PENGASSAN, NNPC nationwide, made the statement on Wednesday in Abuja while briefing newsmen at the commencement of strike called by the unions to protest against the unbundling.
He said that the strike would continue until the government invites them for dialogue.
“ We are not against the unbundling, but the process that may bring about labour issues.
“When you unbundle into several other companies, what will happen to the workers? Are you going to distribute them to the other companies? What will be the effect?
“If it is going to be transfer of service, there has to be negotiations; will it be based on the same condition of service or a new condition of service?” he said.
Abdullahi said that the unions had made several attempts prior to the pronouncement to meet with Kachukwu to ascertain his agenda for the workers.
“Worldwide, if you are doing any transformational change, you need to involve the stakeholders.
“It is important to engage the stakeholders as their inputs and criticisms may contribute to robust restructuring,” he said, and urged the minister to dialogue with the unions to resolve the issues.
Abdullahi recalled that when Kachukwu was appointed, he said that the corporation was too large and needed to be trimmed down into four directorates.
“He did that and was commended for it.
“But today, he wants to bring them back again; what sort of transformation is that?
“When the minister was appointed, we expected him to take care of pipeline vandalism such that the fuel supply will be available everywhere.
“Rather than focus on these issues, he is doing otherwise.
“Even before we embarked on strike you must have observed that there were queues everywhere; the job to be done is to eliminate those queues first.
“It is not the issue of restructuring that should come first; there are other motives for this restructuring,” Abdullahi said.
