Letter to President Buhari, National Assembly, Ministry of Petroleum Resources on NNPC Inconclusive Experienced Hire Recruitment Exercise

His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR
His Excellency, Vice President Oluyemi Osibajo GCON
His Excellency, Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan CON
His Excellency, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila
Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Agboola Gambari CFR
Secretary to the Federal Government, Boss Gidahyelda Mustapha His Excellency, Timipre Marlin Sylva Group Managing Director NNPC, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari



DEMAND FOR THE CONCLUSION OF THE 2019/2020 NIGERIA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC) EXPERIENCED HIRE RECRUITMENT EXERCISE – TRANSPARENCY IN PUBLIC SERVICE RECRUITMENT PROJECT (TPSRP)

The Transparency in Public Service Recruitment Project (TPSRP) is a coalition of 17 Civil Society Organisations whose major objective is to monitor the transparency of recruitments into the public service and all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) in Nigeria. We aim to ensure that merit is the primary determining criteria for recruitment into the public service in Nigeria.

As part of our mandate, we have been monitoring the recruitment exercise initiated by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 2019.

The recruitment exercise is the brain child and vision of the immediate Past Group Managing Director of NNPC, Late Mallam Maikanti Kachallah Baru; May Allah rest his soul in peace; and the recruitment was meant to be his enduring legacy to NNPC.

On March 13, 2019, NNPC called on all eligible Nigerians to apply for jobs in the Corporation under two categories – The Graduate Trainee category for graduates and the Experienced Hire category for Senior Staff, Supervisors and Deputy Managers. The corporation announced over 400 vacancies for the Experienced Hire category.

Subsequently, On June 1, 2019, NNPC conducted Computer Based Tests (CBT) for shortlisted candidates in various centers around the Country. Successful candidates in the CBT were notified of their success on June 26, 2019 and invited for an oral interview at the NNPC Corporate Headquarters in Abuja between July1 and July 11, 2019.

Our investigations revealed that the oral interview induced onerous financial commitments from candidates who had to transport themselves from their various bases across Nigeria to Abuja as well as feed and accommodate themselves so as to participate in the interview.

Many candidates undertook this financial burden because of their hope and optimism that at the end of the recruitment exercise, the NNPC jobs would reward their financial and physical sacrifices.

Surprisingly, following the conclusion of the oral interview on July 11, 2019, nothing was heard from NNPC until February 14, 2020 when the corporation contacted the 1050 successful candidates for the Graduate Trainee cadre and offered them employment.


In its press release of February 14, 2020 on the recruitment exercise which was monitored by TPSRP, the Corporation referenced the Experienced Hire Category of the recruitment when it stated that “The Recruitment Exercise in NNPC will be a continuous process and in this regard, the Experienced Hire (EH) component will be addressed in due course”. 

Unfortunately, till date, candidates who are hopeful of being recruited into the Experienced Hire Cadre of NNPC have not been apprised of their status in the recruitment exercise. This is happening weeks after the successful Graduate Trainees have assumed office in the corporation thereby leaving Experienced Hire Candidates in limbo.


On April 30, 2020, the corporation issued a press release in which it announced the assumption of duty of the 1050 Graduate Trainees.


To our dismay, the press release further stated that, “The assumption of duty of the graduate trainees marks the successful completion of the 2019/2020 recruitment exercise”.

The press release announcing the completion of the recruitment exercise without stating a specific date on which the successful Experienced Hire Candidates would be contacted is totally unacceptable.




The manner in which NNPC has handled the Experienced Hire Recruitment makes a mockery of the core values which ought to define the corporation; Respect for the Individual, Integrity, Transparency and Accountability.

Sadly, the attitude of the management of NNPC towards the Experienced Hire Recruitment is very suspect. People who are given to conspiracy theories would argue that the decision makers in NNPC want to sweep the recruitment under the carpet to enable them smuggle their families, friends and cronies, most of whom did not partake in the recruitment process, into the corporation.

It is very clear that upon the conclusion of the oral interview exercise in July 2019, the list of successful candidates for the Experienced Hire recruitment to fill over 400 vacancies in the corporation would have been compiled.

What remains unclear is the reason why the management of NNPC has decided to sit on a list that would have brought joy and relief to many poor households in Nigeria who are currently suffering from the adverse economic effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

The actions of the management of NNPC is totally unacceptable and should not be condoned in President Muhammadu Buhari’s Nigeria.


Working in a corporation such as NNPC is the legitimate aspiration of the common man in Nigeria. Consequently, where the common man cannot get a job in NNPC due to the whims and caprices of those who are charged with the responsibility of managing the corporation, this signifies that there is something fundamentally wrong with the system.

His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari is a man of honour who has promised to lift Nigerians out of poverty! President Muhammadu Buhari is a no nonsense leader who stands for merit, transparency and Integrity! President Muhammadu Buhari is a man of the people and the defender of the common man and the oppressed in Nigeria!

The President Muhammadu Buhari that we all know will not tolerate the actions of the management of NNPC once it is brought to his attention!

This is why we have written this letter to inform Mr. President and all decision makers in Nigeria of the actions of the management of NNPC which is bringing tears to the eyes of the common man in Nigeria; whose only desire is to contribute their quota in NNPC after successfully passing through all the stages of the Experienced Hire recruitment exercise.

DEMANDS 

On behalf of the suffering masses, we make the following demands:

 1. The Presidency, Senate, House of Representatives and Minister of State for Petroleum should direct the Management of NNPC to conclude the 2019 Experienced Hire Recruitment exercise by contacting all successful candidates based on merit.

2. The Management of NNPC should conclude the Experienced Hire Recruitment Exercise within the next 15 working days failing which the Transparency in Public Service Recruitment Project (TPSRP) and its members would organize itself and take appropriate actions.

3. The Management of NNPC should honour the vision and legacy of Mallam Maikanti Kachallah Baru who is one of the most quintessential, honourable and beloved gentlemen to ever grace the office of Group Managing Director of NNPC.

Yours faithfully, Tamunotonye I. Cookey-Gam Mohammed Abdul Qayyum Sandamu Chairman and  Secretary