Oil workers in Nigeria have said that the joint strike embarked upon by NUPENG and PENGASSAN is only suspended to allow for a window period to discuss issues that led to the strike.
The President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Mr Igwe Achese, told Channels Television that the striking workers decided to suspend their strike after series of intervention meetings between the unions and the Presidency.
On Wednesday, Oil workers shut down operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) nationwide until further notice following the unbundling of the corporation.
This decision was reached at a meeting of the Group Executive Councils of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), which held on Tuesday, March 8.
The Federal Government had approved the creation of seven operational units in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu said that five of the seven operational units would be strictly business-driven in line with global best practices.
The new units include those for Upstream, Downstream, Gas and Power, Refineries, Ventures, Corporate Planning and Services, and Finance and Accounts.
He said each of the units would be headed by Chief Executive Officers; namely Bello Rabiu for Upstream; Henry Ikem-Onih for Downstream; Anibor Kragha (Refineries); Saudu Mohammed (Gas and Power), while Babatunde Adeniran takes charge of Ventures.
The oil workers told Channels Television that the unbundling process was not transparent.
