30 September 2014, Abuja ~ The Retired Staff Association of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation.(NNPC), has asked Federal Government to immediately dissolve the board of the corporation for lack of competence and failure to actualise the dream of its founding fathers.
The retirees also cautioned the management of NNPC to, as a matter of urgency, desist from frequent sacking of competent staff and management, stressing that this situation has continued to give room for unqualified hands to take charge of the affairs of the revered industry.
The President of RSA, Alhaji Ibrahim Abbam who disclosed this at an interactive session with journalist at the weekend in Abuja, expressed concern over frequent changes in the management of the national oil company, describing it as counter -productive.
”The Board of the NNPC should be dissolved; its composition today is made up of purely, incompetent people who have no experience. We should count sentiments out; how would you go and bring managers from outside and expect the organisation to strive? The crises we have in NNPC today is as a result of a very high turnover of poor management. We also need to say no Managing Director must stay for more than five years in office.
The mess that is ongoing in NNPC presently do not happen in Malaysia and other oil producing countries of the world; if the present board continues like this for a longer time, I can only see the corporation going down the drain,” he explained.
He stated that NNPC should not continue to change Managing Directors for the sake of it.
”Since 2011, the Board has not met; this is really an incompetent board. Its committees supposed to put in place materials for the board to meet, unfortunately, they too, are not working,” he added.
He advised that in view of its strategic nature of its operations, the NNPC must look inward , and promote staff that are qualified and skillful to occupy management positions instead of looking outside.
”You can see that some of us are still young, what stops the corporation to hire our members to work for it?,” he added.
He called on the corporation to, as a matter of urgency, start implementing every agreement reached with the Ministry of Petroleum without further delay.
Some of the resolutions reached with the ministry on September, 19 2014 according to Abbam, includes, withdrawal of PENCOM letter, closure of PENSION funds Gap, Pension Fund Sustainability Measures, establishment of Ad-Hoc Committee, Turn around Maintenance and Crude oil Supply to the Refineries among others.
He equally called on the NNPC’s management to ensure that what is paid to them as pension be reviewed every five years in line with their engagement rules.
~ This Day
