Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu today said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation unbundling exercise by the Federal Government has not yet kicked off.

Kachikwu who today spoke in an interview with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa said:

“We have not unbundled NNPC. We had a press conference yesterday where I explained this. What we have simply done is re-organisation. We have five business entities focused on business: Upstream, Downstream, Refineries, Gas and Power that are there before.

“There is also Ventures that capture all our little companies that were not having proper stewardship. They are run by individuals who report to the GMD.

The NNPC is still a whole. There is nothing new that has happened. “I have tried to explain this and I am sure the NNPC workers are members of the family, they will understand.

We are going to have a meeting, and they will be made to understand. Perhaps the engagement has not been good enough.

“NNPC has not been unbundled in the sense of breaking up NNPC into distinct institutions. I am concerned. I don’t want the industry shut down. I am sure we are going to resolve the issues very soon”.

Earlier today, Oil workers under the guise of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) had shut down the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) nationwide until further notice following the said unbundling of the corporation.

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