“Our criteria were carefully thought out. We carried out a survey to arrive at all those criteria that were stipulated."
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has rejected a statement by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) alleging discrimination in requirements for recruitment into the petroleum corporation.
On Sunday, NANS a statement by Adeyemi Azeez, its Public Relations Officer, rejected the “anti-poor and anti-masses” recruitment requirements of the NNPC.
NANS had also issued threats of mass action and shutdown of the corporation over the matter.
However, Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, said there was no discrimination in the various requirements of the corporation’s recruitment process.
The criteria for Graduate Trainee, among others, required applicants to have graduated from an accredited university/polytechnic/monotechnic not earlier than 2014 according to NAN.
Ughamadu said: “There was no discrimination in the criteria, If there is anything, the corporation is supposed to be commended now that it is trying to recruit to reduce the unemployment in the country.
“Our criteria were carefully thought out. We carried out a survey to arrive at all those criteria that were stipulated. There are many categories. There are four; if you didn’t meet one category, you move to the next; if you didn’t meet the second, you go to the third, and so on.
“For the graduate trainee, we put age level at 28 years, the second 34, the third 37 and the last 40. So, any Nigerian looking for employment that falls within any of the four categories is qualified.”