…NNPCL Counters, says it is not true, PPMC staff have been placed, and the recruitment process based on business needs
Over 1000 staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ( NNPCL) are hanging around the company’s Tower without offices where they could sit and work for the salaries they earn monthly.
According to Business Standards investigation, workers whose monthly salaries run into several millions of Naira at public expense are floating because the management of the company could not fix them in any of its Business Units following the disbandment of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC). They could not be absolved into any of the business units of the company for reasons best known to the NNPCL management.
The workers are said to be former workers of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) which is already liquidated. The workers from investigations were moved to the trading and retail Business Units of the NNPCL but they were rejected by the officers in those units and it seems the NNPC hierarchy is helpless in this respect.
Some of these workers were alleged to have indicated their willingness to go on retirement but they cannot go because the NNPCL has no funds to meet their gratitude and pension obligations now, given the alleged terrible state of the company’s finances.
A source with the company who said he is not allowed to respond officially to the allegations while trying to defend the action of NNPCL told Business Standards that renovation works are being carried out in NNPC Tower, and because of this, people are not able to get office space to work. The source described those making the allegations as disgruntled workers that are not fit into the new scheme of things in the current dispensation which is tailored toward the implementation of PIA
However, NNPCL in an official response to Business Standards’ inquiry, stated: “Firstly, the transition exercise that brought about the collapse of PPMC, one of NNPC Ltd Business units was implemented to enhance organizational efficiency, profitability and sustainability. Most employees of the defunct PPMC have been placed appropriately in other Business Units within NNPC Ltd based on skills, experience and business needs. Currently, we have just 5 employees of the defunct PPMC that are yet to be placed and efforts are being made to place them soonest.
“We assure you that NNPC Ltd upholds the highest standards of professionalism and ethical practices. We are committed to a fair and inclusive workplace, where competence and performance are the primary drivers for career advancement”
Another trend that is worrisome according to some of the staff of the company is the mode of recruitment and quality of new staff the organization has recruited.
According to them, the new staff recruited lack the requisite skills, and to worsen matters, is the fact that they are placed above those on which huge investments have been made in terms of training. So you now have novices occupying even management positions without knowing what is required of him or her in that position.
“ The old staff are there wasting away,” an insider said.
Promotion in NNPCL is now based on whom you know and not on competence. To achieve this, it is alleged that spurious committees on PIA implementation were set up, and after the committees were disbanded, their members were given automatic promotions to some steps higher than where they were, leaving the preponderance of the workers in the cold.
Some staff were said to have been promoted to the positions of general managers within a very short period of their employment. Their promotions were alleged not to have followed normal processes and procedures within the organization. A similar exercise of this nature was said to have been turned down by Maikanti Kachalla Baru, former Group Managing Director of NNPC because it violates the laid procedure for promotion in the then corporation.
Some of the NNPCL staff accused the current Chief Executive officer, Mele Kyari of playing double standards. They said in his attempt to want to implement the PIA; he is destroying the system by placing highly incompetent staff above those that are well trained. They advised him to take a cue from the international oil companies in the way and manner they carry out their restructuring and recruitment exercises.
His actions they said may end up resulting in a national oil company that is worse than NNPCL in the nearest future in terms of efficiency, competence and even transparency.
In response to this development, the company defended its recruitment process, saying, “NNPC Ltd’s recruitment processes are based on clear business needs, merit and robust HCM processes. Recently, NNPC Ltd head hunted a few talents with relevant competence in emerging areas of our businesses due to lack of these talents in-house. In some cases, these hired talents took salary cuts to serve our National Energy Company.
“Thirdly, promotion and all Internal resourcing exercises adhere strictly to our policies and applicable procedures, ensuring fairness and equal opportunities for all employees.
Lastly, all retirement from NNPC Ltd is either statutory or Voluntary. In order to align our workforce with the new strategic direction and also to allow employees to take active participation in their career development, NNPC Ltd recently offered employees a voluntary exit package, which was highly enhanced and strictly on voluntary basis. We recorded an 83% acceptance rate and employees who declined the offer are still within the company.
“We assure you that NNPC Ltd upholds highest standards of professionalism and ethical practices. We are committed to a fair and inclusive workplace, where competence and performance are the primary drivers for career advancement,” the statement said.
Despite the denial of the allegations some of the staff alleged that the severance package embarked upon by the company was not done properly as they alleged that it was only 20 percent of what was supposed to pay them was what was given them.
The questions they are asking now, are, what has happened to the remaining 80 percent and when are they going to be paid?