Oil unions workers under the umbrella of NUPENG and PENGASSAN have reportedly called off their one-day-old strike after meeting with the junior Minister of Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu.
The unions had embarked on strike following the misinterpretation of the unbundling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
After meeting with Kachikwu, the unions decided to sheath their swords and get back to work.
Kachikwu assured them that there was no unbundling of NNPC, stressing that, what was happening was a restructuring.
Oil workers feared that many of them would be sacked if NNPC was unbundled and they immediately resorted to a strike, but they have been reassured that their jobs are safe at least for now.
“We have not unbundled NNPC. We had a press conference yesterday where I explained this,” Kachikwu said.
“What we have simply done is a reorganization. We have five business entities focused on business-Upstream, Downstream, Refineries, Gas, and Power, that are there before.
“There is also ventures that capture all our little companies that were not having proper stewardship.
“They are run by individuals who report to the GMD. The NNPC is still a whole. There is nothing new that has happened.
“I have tried to explain this, and I am sure the NNPC workers are members of the family, they will understand.
“We are going to have a meeting, and they will be made to understand. Perhaps the engagement has not been good enough.
“NNPC has not been unbundled in the sense of breaking up NNPC into distinct institutions.
"I am concerned. I don’t want the industry shut down. I am sure we are going to resolve the issues very soon,” he further explained.
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