Originally Posted by
Bebrief 
@JA, it will be nice to have you speak at 22 Miverton street Ikoyi. Time is 8am prompt (no African time) on Monday 11th June. We hope to have an impressive turnout. Dress is corporate.
@Twinklestar, will forward to the email asap. More contacts of media houses shall be appreciated.
@4gkevin, as much as I understand your concerns, i'll appreciate we retain the paragraph as coined by @naijapatriot12. We're all still delivering the same message. Below is the final draft:
A PRESS STATEMENT BY CONCERNED NIGERIAN GRADUATES ON THE CONTINUED DELAY OF NNPC/DPR MANAGEMENT TO RELEASE APPOINTMENT LETTERS TO SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES AFTER MONTHS OF INTERVIEW AND DEHUMANISATION OF NIGERIAN GRADUATES
Firstly, we wish to commiserate with the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) respectively on the loss of some members of their staff in the ill-fated Dana airlines mishap of 3rd June. We commiserate with the bereaved families and pray that God grants eternal rest to the departed. This sad event however, is a clarion call to all Nigerians and people in authority to do the right thing, be it proper maintenance works on an airplane or conducting and successfully concluding a free and fair recruitment process by government parastatals, which is the subject of our protest as we draw attention to this anomaly that needs to be addressed.
Sometime around August in 2011, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation announced to the consternation of Nigerians that 80% of the over 40,000 Nigerians that sat for the recruitment test of the corporation failed. This result was even more disastrous considering the fact that those who failed where either first class or second class upper degree graduates. Nine months later, fellow Nigerians, the successful candidates who were being interviewed at the time that very inauspicious declaration was made do not know their fate. To fully appreciate the import of the following discourse, the reader might need to be informed that this recruitment process began in November 2010, when the NNPC announced recruitment positions in the corporation and its subsidiaries.
On the 26th day of March 2011, over 40,000 young, bright and promising Nigerian youths sat for the NNPC's recruitment test in various locations across the country having met the stipulated recruitment criteria. Many of these young chaps, including yours sincerely, had to pass through a lot of rigors in order to write this test. Many of the candidates had to embark on harrowing journeys on the death traps we call inter-state roads. Others traveled from various parts of the world- Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia on personally funded flights.
On getting to the test venues, instead of a little respite in the form of already sorted out logistics, they were welcome by what could best be described as cut-and-nail arrangements. In their hordes, these hopeful Nigerian youths bore the infernal heat of the sun, as they waited for the officials of the NNPC and Phillips Consulting, to make face-saving reparations to their blighted first impressions. Such was the hope of the "hopefuls", that even though a test that was earlier scheduled for 11am was delayed till about 5pm (and even 6pm in some venues), their resolve was not in a bit deterred. They strained their eyes to make use of the little light the dark halls could afford them. Nothing could better define the enthusiasm of these young ones than the arrival of a newly wedded bride still dressed resplendently in her wedding gown making her way through the crowd to "secure her future".
Despite these inconveniences, 20% of the candidates - as asserted by no less a person than the GMD himself, braved the odds, passed the test and were invited for interviews. The last batch of successful candidates were interviewed at the NNPC towers between July and September 2011, in a time when the security situation of Nigeria could best be described as tenuous, owing to the endless bombings that were becoming rife. Once again, optimistic Nigerians made the trip to the NNPC towers across lands, air and oceans at personal expense.
As is the tradition, account numbers of the interviewees were collected to facilitate payment of their transportation allowances. Forward to nine months later and the “hopefuls” are still hoping. There is no gain saying that the Phillips Consulting officials and the NNPC senior staff members involved in the recruitment exercise have been paid their allowances, while not even the transportation allowances of the interviewees have been paid. Nine months gone and counting, hopefuls have been waiting with bated breath for the conclusion of this recruitment process. Hopefuls are increasingly wary, because the conspiracy of silence on this process forebodes ominous signals as was the case with the 2008 recruitment, which was ingloriously swept under the carpet. The expectations have reached feverish pitch as evidenced by discussions on various fora created for this purpose.
The question that keeps begging for an answer is: What offense did the Nigerian youth commit? Even though the issue of the fuel subsidy probe has been espoused as a possible excuse for the delays by some, the corporation and its parent ministry have gone ahead to present and defend budgets for the year which made provisions for increased manpower. What then is stopping the release of appointment letters to successful interviewees? If the GMD was so quick to denigrate those who in his allusions are pretenders to the degrees they possess, is it not only fair to reward those who proved their mettle.
The NNPC and her sister organization, the Department of the Petroleum Resources (DPR) have decided to play the ostrich concerning the recruitment of a few deserving Nigerian youths, whereas in this nation, billions of Naira have gone into sustaining the avarice of a few. It is even more disheartening that in the recently held ministerial platform, the Minister under whose watch these recruitments are being carried out. It needs some reiteration that it is the career of hardworking, deserving young Nigerians that is being toyed with by a privileged few. The President, Minister and top management staff of these organizations should remember that “those whose nuts were cracked by benevolent spirits are morally obliged to others”.
It is also worthy of note that increased personnel costs were defended by both agencies of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources at the Senate defense hearing. Addressing the Committee on February 2nd, the Director of the DPR, Mr. Austin Olorunshola, said the department was “about to recruit more staff within the next two weeks”. Also coming from the Minister of Petroleum Resources, “the slight increase in DPR’s recurrent budget represents provisions for anticipated recruitment of new staff to improve the overall effectiveness of the department”. It is however surprising therefore that four months after this promise, new hands are yet to be engaged.
The successful conclusion of this process or otherwise will call to question the genuineness of Mr. President’s transformation agenda, which most of the hopefuls bought into, and gave him their votes for. It is unjust that in this nation, a cabal of few persons who brought this nation down on her knees still runs amok, whereas the employment of a few thousand youths have become a matter of contention. So far, the hopefuls have remained calm. We are gentlemen and ladies in the very sense of it; we are responsible professionals/would be professionals, but there is a point to which we can suffer the evil in the land.
We are therefore taking our destinies in our hands by waging a peaceful protest as law-abiding and responsible citizens to draw the attention of government to the evil menace. It is our hope that the government, the Minister and management of NNPC lend a listening ear to our plea and respond by a speedy conclusion of this long-running recruitment process and invite successful candidates for training.
We appreciate the involvement of media and civil society to our cause as an injustice against the Nigerian youth is one against the nation's future.
GOD BLESS YOU!
GOD BLESS NNPC/DPR!
GOD BLESS NIGERIAN GRADUATES!
GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA!
Signed:
For NNPC/DPR hopefuls online forum.
To: All print and electronic media houses in Nigeria
Cc: Group General Manager HR, NNPC
Director, DPR
Group Managing Director, NNPC
Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
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