Maikanti Baru, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on Friday, February 2, 2018 appealed to the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, to reconsider the 15-day ultimatum it issued to the Federal Government over what the union described as lingering labour-related issues in the country.
Dr. Baru, who expressed concern over the possible effects of the ultimatum on products’ supply and distribution chain across the country, stated that the threat by NUPENG could compound the current hiccups over which concerted efforts were being taken to bring under control.
According to Punch, the NNPC boss begged the union to exercise patience to enable the government to address issues over which it had raised the alarm.
NUPENG had in a statement dated January 31, given a 15-day ultimatum to the government over six labour issues between some of its members and their respective companies.
Baru in a statement issued by the corporation’s spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, stated that NUPENG should strive to maintain the harmonious industrial relations that had brought about stability in the industry, reminding its leadership of the criticality of the petroleum sector to the nation’s economy.
In a related development, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch of NUPENG has assured the NNPC that it has no plan to embark on strike.
