NNPC: Over 100 Contract Workers Lose Job As Refineries Fail To Produce Petrol For Eight Months

Over 100 contract workers have lost their jobs at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Their contract was terminated after NNPC disengaged the contractor firms that provide the workers for labour. The retrenchment comes at a period NNPC moves to rehabilitate its refineries as it failed to produce PMS (Fuel) in eight months.

The commencement of the rehabilitation of the refineries had rendered the workers redundant as they were only employed based on available work, but with no need for labour due to the rehabilitation, NNPC parted ways with the contract workers. The affected contract workers are usually engaged for about three months.

About five contract firms were said to have been affected, and according to a Punch report, the termination of contract didn't affect direct employees of NNPC. Speaking on the new development, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division for NNPC, Kennie Obateru, said, "The people concerned are not our direct staff. We have contractors who supply us labour, they could be 10, 20 or more and they are just engaged for the period for which their services are needed.

"It could be one or two months, but usually not more than three months. So the contractor supplies the workers. But from what we have seen, our experience is that because a contractor is used to working with some people, each time we ask for supply, he uses some of these persons repeatedly.”

Refineries didn't produce for eight months

The NNPC intend to revive the refineries, ensuring they deliver at least 90 per cent of their refining capacities. It had been previously reported that the refineries didn't produce a drop of petrol or kerosene for eight straight months. From June 2019 till January 2020, the facilities didn't refine petrol and kerosene. Both products were last refined in May last year

The NNPC refineries includes the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, Port Harcourt Refining Company and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company. The NNPC had stated that these refineries didn't produce petrol and Kerosene within the eight months period because of the rehabilitation, “The lack of production is due to ongoing rehabilitation works at the refineries.” NNPC said.