MEDIATRACNET
A total of 195 staff members of the newly established Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) were on Tuesday promoted, the Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Gbenga Komolafe, announced.
Komolafe said the approval of the promotion of the staff was in recognition of the need to provide them with the incentive to put in their best in helping the Commission realise its mandate.
“Human capital are critical and essential element of factors of production. That is the reason the staff need to be happy before they can work. We had assured them of the determination of the Federal Government to look after their welfare. It is only when staff are happy that we can talk of improving our crude oil production capacity, which is presently below what we should be producing,” Komolafe said.
“I have ensured the immediate approval for promotion of 195 union staff that have been stagnated in the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for years to stave off industrial crisis that could further harm the low daily oil production in Nigeria and worsen the nations Federal generated oil revenue,” Komolafe said.
The decision to promote the staff, the CEO said, followed his engagements and assurances to the affected staff, adding that the decision was also to boost staff morale and to ensure the staff were not shortchanged in the unfolding transition and manpower re organisations in line with the PIA”.
He noted that there was a positive correlation between boosting the country’s crude production capacity to optimise federation revenue and elevating staff morale with the latest promotion.
Komolafe who re-emphasized the critical and significant moment in the oil and gas sector of the economy, especially the call for divestments by multinational companies in the sector by key global stakeholders said “the best and only option opened to us to maximize the benefits from fossil fuels is to improve the welfare of those who are saddled with the responsibility of managing the sector.
“So what we have done is by extension to improve the nation’s revenue by providing the incentive to those charged with the responsibility of working to increase the country’s crude oil production capacity from the current level of 1.4 million barrels perday to 2.4 million bpd.
He urged the staff to reciprocate the gesture with enhanced service delivery in their determination to leave a legacy of a 21 century regulator, business enabler commission.
Last week during a podcast to staff across the country on his assumprion of office, Komolafe promised to be fair to all and sundry in his leadership approach
He said the Commission would do all in its capacity to address issues of worker’s welfare and give priority to good industrial relations.
“Human capital capacity development will be stringently pursued to ensure high standard of professionalism at all times,” he promised.
Following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the NUPRC was created to take over the responsibility of the defunct DPR that was responsibility of regulating the technical and commercial activities of the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector.
