FACT-CHECK: Did The NNPC sack 500 workers?

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCLimited) has on Tuesday reacted to viral reports online claiming that the petroleum company has sacked about 500 workers.

The reports alleged that the company had proposed a voluntary retirement exit package to about ‘500’ employees as it transited into a private energy enterprise.

However, in a statement by Garba Deen Muhammad, the group general manager, group public affairs division of the company said the company has no plans to sack workers.

This comes as President Muhammadu Buhari launched the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited last week, a landmark event that officially transformed the oil firm from a wholly state-run entity to a commercial oil company, limited by shares.

“We are transforming our petroleum industry to strengthen the growth today July 19 2022. NNPC Limited now will operate as a commercial oil company with over 200 million shareholders with integrity and excellence,” Buhari said at the event

Refuting the viral reports, NNPCLimited said: “NNPC limited has not and is not planning to lay off a single staff as a result of its recent transition from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to NNPCLimited.

“The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 is very clear that no staff will lose his/her job or earn less than what they earned before the transition.”

The new development is anticipated to serve as a commercially-oriented and profit-driven national petroleum company independent of government, although government bodies remain its shareholders. It will be audited annually. It is also expected to be managed as a private energy enterprise.