NNPC has 6,621 staff strength – Report

…Our top management appointments on merit, says Corporation

TRACKING___The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it currently has 6,621 staff strength both at its headquarters and across all its subsidiaries, division and offices nationwide.

The corporation disclosed this in its report of compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s (EITI) Open Data requirements, released in Abuja on Monday.

The report disclosed that the 6,621 individuals comprised its total staff strength as at April 20, 2020.

This meant that the recently employed 1,050 fresh graduates were captured, as their employments were concluded in February.

According to the report, NNPC has 13 divisions/Strategic Business Units nationwide.

It said that while 5,410 of corporation’s workforce representing 81.7 per cent were male, 211 were women, representing 18.3 per cent of its total staff strength.

The report further pointed out that the three refineries — Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri refineries — had 1,898 staff, representing 28.7 per cent of NNPC group’s total workforce.

A break down of the staff distribution by the report showed that 1,869 staff, comprising 28.2 per cent of its total workforce, were involved in operations engineering across all the divisions and Strategic Business Units (SBU); followed by human resources, with 818 staff.

This, it said, j0 comprised 12.35 per cent of its total workforce; while 684 staff were Health, Safety and Environment officers, representing 10.3 per cent of its total workforce.

“Finance, Accounts, Audit, Tax and Insurance staff across all its divisions and SBU are 605; commercial staffers are 506; general engineering staff are 466 and supply chain management staff, 337.

“Information technology personnel are 301; medical staff are 204; leadership staff are 196; while NNPC Group’s geosciences staff are 142,” it said.

The report also noted that public affairs staff were 108; petroleum engineering staff 74; legal personnel 55; and well engineering staff 48.

Furthermore, the report revealed that 27.2 per cent, comprising 1,801 NNPC’s staff were currently employed in the corporate headquarters.

It said that 13 per cent of the NNPC group’s total workforce were employed in the Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC); while 758 individuals were currently employed in the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).

This, it said, represented 11.4 per cent of the NNPC group’s total workforce.

“The Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC), which is currently shut down and awaiting revamp, has 655 staff; Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) 550 staff; the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) has 485 staff.

“NNPC’s commercial and investment subsidiary, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) has 426 staff; while the corporation’s downstream subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) has 255 staff,” it said

In addition, the report noted that Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) has 254 staff; Integrated Data Services Limited, 175 staff; Crude Oil Marketing Division of the NNPC and Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC) 152 staff each.

“While National Engineering and Technical Company Limited (NETCO) has 64 staff in its employment.”

Analysis of the corporation’s staff strength showed that of the total workforce, while one staff was in JS2, 527 others were in JS1 grade level categories respectively.

It noted that 85 staff, 103 staff, 259 staff, 740 staff, 700 staff, 1,674, and 1,690 staff were in the grade level SS7, SS6, SS5, SS4, SS3, SS2 and SS1 respectively.

Grade levels M6, M5, M4, M3, M2 and M1, which is the management cadre, had 408 staff, 238 staff, 143 staff, 44 staff, eight staff and one staff (chief executive) respectively.

Meanwhile, the NNPC says professional competence, adherence to the principle of transparency and accountability informed the recent top management appointment executed in the first week of March.

Dr. Kennie Obateru, the spokesman for the corporation made this known in a statement issued in Abuja, on Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the corporation in March disengaged some of its staff and appointed new top management staff.

The appointments elicited criticisms from some Nigerians and some Niger Delta leaders.

Obateru explained that the principle of federal character was also a factor in the progression of the newly appointees.

He said many top management officers of the corporation were moved to new positions, while some were promoted based on their verifiable track records of performance.

“Some Chief Operating Officers, Group General Managers and Managing Directors of subsidiaries were affected in what some industry analysts described as the most objective placement exercise in the recent history of the National Oil Company.

Topping the list of the changes, he said, was the re-deployment of the erstwhile Chief Operating Officer (COO), Upstream, Mr Roland Ewubare, to the Ventures and Business Development Directorate as COO.

He said that under the arrangement, Ewubare, got an additional responsibility of business development, besides managing the group’s ventures.

NNPC spokesman said Ewubare’s position as COO Upstream was taken over by Mr Adeyemi Adetunji, erstwhile Chief Operating Officer in charge of Downstream directorate.

He noted that Adetunji was a first-class Mechanical Engineering graduate of the University of Lagos and started his over 30 years career as a maintenance Engineer and later a project Engineer in Lever Brothers Nigeria Limited (Unilever).

Obateru said that the recent top management appointment also received affirmative action with the re-deployment of Ms Lawrencia Ndupu to the Downstream.

He said that Ndupu was a Physicists and renowned explorationist and started her working career in NNPC in January 1986, adding that through the years, she has held many key positions.

Obateru added that Mr Bala Wunti, the erstwhile Managing Director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company was appointed as the new GGM of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).

“With a chain of experience spanning close to 30 years, Wunti who hailed from the North East, was the initiator of ‘Operation White,’ a system put in place to promote transparency and accountability in the distribution of petroleum products across the country.

“The list also included Mr Lawal Sade as the new Managing Director of the NNPC Trading Company, a subsidiary of corporation.

“Before then he was the MD of NIDAS, a shipping arm of the NNPC. Mr. Sade had been essentially a marketer in the last 20 years with impressive outcomes.”

Obateru stated that the exercise kept in place Mr Adokiye Tombomieye, from the South-South, as Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing, a highly strategic position in the corporation.

The NNPC spokesperson explained that the new appointments depicted a leadership of the corporation determined on ensuring placement of square pegs in square holes.

He said this was done while not losing sight of geographical spread, in respect of staffing.