There are strong indications that some top management staff of NNPC Limited which includes Directors and General Managers that have been forced to retire as the new NNPC restructures are now being lured with top positions and seizable salary packages to join some of the indigenous Nigerian independent oil companies. companies.
The companies offering to employ the NNPC top management staff are those that just won the recent bid for the marginal fields.
However, some of these retirees are said to be unfavorable disposed to the offers from these Nigerian Companies. Their reasons being that some of them have already started negotiating with some off shore oil companies with indications to play in the Nigeria oil and gas industry.
They are said to prefer forming partnership with these new foreign Companies from the US and. Europe with the view and willingness to Invest in Nigeria.
Already some of the NNPC top management staff with less than two years to go have agreed to take the packages being offered by NNPC for their retirement.
NNPC is said to have already offered a “tempting” package for workers willing to accept the forced retirement. But most of the affected staff have been grumbling preferring to serve out their years in NNPC.
A week ago, President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the NNPC Limited, positioning it to operate as a profit-oriented company.
On the sidelines of the event, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the company, had assured that none of the 7,000 workers would be sacked, emphasising that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) did not prescribe such a measure.
“We do not have a bloated workforce. Today, the company’s workers population is just 7,000. I believe with the expansion, we have a line of sight, we are going to hire more people to work for us,” Kyari had said.
“The law has also provided that no one is going to leave this company. Everybody’s work is preserved. Their benefits are preserved. So, no matter for concern for the workers of this company.”
Reports said that the NNPC Limited’s offer may affect as many as 500 employees, adding that many workers have received the email and accepted the offer.
The report added that it would affect employees who have been officially confirmed or are unable to carry out their functions effectively and those who set to retire between 2022 and 2024.
Apart from what has been described as a “juicy package”, the report said those who are affected are said to be entitled to 50 percent payment of their salaries until the time they are naturally expected to exit the company.
However, it said some of the management staff of NNPC Limited affected — especially some of the general managers and group general managers — kicked against it.
A source said that the offer was termed ‘willful’, and it was in accordance with global best practices for companies.
He added that the “Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) would have raised the flag” if the company was contravening the provisions of the PIA.
