OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has terminated the appointments of 850 of its workers even as effects of the coronavirus bite harder on world economies, according to the general secretary of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa.
The Corporation has 6000 workers across the country.
In a telephone conversation with Reuters on Tuesday, Mr. Okugbawa said many of those who lost their jobs were from the refineries.
The workers are both skilled and unskilled contractors, including technicians who helped maintain the facilities.
PENGASSAN has always been on loggerhead with operators in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector over sacking and ill-treatment of its members.
Although the NNPC is yet to come up with an official statement about the layoffs however, SweetcrudeReports findings showed that the development might be connected to recent outrages and backlashes from the public over the state of the refineries, especially the one located in Kaduna which had for years, produced zero products and made no profit over yet, its workers get paid and promoted.
Despite Nigeria being in possession of four refineries, the country still ships its crude oil to be refined outside the country, mostly to Europe and then ships in refined petroleum products at great costs.
