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PENGASSAN insists on thorough investigation of $25bn NNPC contracts

By Gloria Ehiaghe
12 October 2017   |   3:50 am
PENGASSAN has called for proper and thorough investigation into the crisis surrounding the $25 billion contract and employment allegation in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Members of the Group Executive Council (GEC) of PENGASSAN & NUPENG paid a solidarity visit to the NNPC GMD, Maikanti Baru. PHOTO: TWITTER NNPC

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called for proper and thorough investigation into the crisis surrounding the $25 billion contract and employment allegation in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The association vowed to resist any attempt by non-executive officials of the NNPC to meddle in the affairs of the Corporation.

A statement signed yesterday by the Secretary of the Group Executive Council (GEC) of PENGASSAN in NNPC, Comrade Sulaiman Sulaiman, said members of the association support Senate’s decision to thoroughly investigate the weighty allegations the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu made against the NNPC Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru on the awards of the $25 billion contracts and new appointments in the organisation.

Sulaiman, who said PENGASSAN was in total support of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign, vowed to stop non-executive officials from using top management positions in the Corporation to settle their cronies at the detriment of staff members.

“We are convinced that the recent reorganisation in NNPC is in good faith and in tandem with our call to allow internal growth in the system through hard work and positive appraisals.

“We shall continue to reject and vehemently resist attempts at meddling in the day-to-day running of the organisation by non-executive officials of the Corporation. We will no longer allow our institutions to be an avenue to settle friends and cohorts into management positions of NNPC at the detriment of dedicated staff with all the requisite qualifications within the system.

“Problems will continue to occur as long as the Chairman of the Board continues to meddle in day-to-day running of the organisation, which is a management role. Any attempts to allow this to happen will spell doom for the country and create a window for abuse,” the statement reads in part

The senior staff said good practice in corporate governance requires absolute segregation of oversight role from management’s daily functions. They said the board chairman should focus on performance appraisal of the board committees and its members rather than dictating appointments or awarding contracts in the NNPC.

PENGASSAN argued that contrary to claim in the said letter to the president, staff members were no longer afraid to talk or express their opinions, especially with the domestication of whistle blowing policy, as well as re-constitution and launching of the Anti-Corruption Committee by Baru.

“Why should a board chairman seek to meddle in the internal organisational adjustment?

“In terms of workplace harmony, NNPC has enjoyed the best industrial atmosphere under its present Management. So far, there is zero record of industrial crisis or shutdown, which is the first of its kind in the history of struggles in the country’s oil and gas sector,” the association added.

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