The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, has called on the oil and gas industry unions to support his management’s vision to reposition the corporation.

The unions are Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).

Kyari disclosed this in a statement issued by Mr Ndu Ughamadu, the spokesman for the corporation in Abuja on Friday.

Kyari spoke during a visit of the PENGASSAN and NUPENG national leadership to the NNPC Towers.

He noted that the corporation needed support from all quarters to continue its role as a key enabler of the nation’s economy.

He said the corporation would achieve greater success when stakeholders commits to its ownership and proffer solutions to its challenges.

“The window to this country is the petroleum industry. Anywhere you go in the world, the first question they will ask you as a Nigerian is on the oil and gas industry.

“And the window to the oil and gas industry is NNPC, so we must all join hands to make NNPC work,” he said.

On the refineries, he said that the corporation was committed to their full rehabilitation in order to produce at optimal capacity and avoid excuses.

Speaking earlier, the President of PENGASSAN, Mr Ndukaku Ohaeri, urged the management to look at the possibility of adopting the NLNG business model for the refineries in order to ensure that they operate profitably on a sustainable basis.

He commended the NNPC leadership for supporting the union in capacity building which had paid off in the quality of engagement and sustenance of industrial harmony.

Also, the President NUPENG, Mr William Akporeha, commended the management of NNPC for its timely intervention in the disputes between the union and International Oil Companies (IOCs).

This, he said had helped a great deal in averting crisis in the industry.

He called on the GMD to equally wade into the persisting casualisation of Nigerians by the foreign oil companies. (NAN)