Restructuring of staff in newly-formed upstream commission ongoing

The Minister of State, Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, Thursday established that to ensure the smooth implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the federal government is reorganising staff deployed from the defunct agencies to ensure their proper fit for tasks assigned.

By the new law, employees of the scrapped Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) are to be absorbed by both the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) and the Midstream/Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (MDPRA).

Also included among the defunct agencies whose staff will be redeployed in the two succeeding organisations are those of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

Speaking at the 5th Quadrennial Branch Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), DPR branch, in Abuja, Sylva stated that everybody will be carried along in the process to maintain the existing industrial harmony.

Represented by the Director, Human Resources Management, at the Ministry of Petroleum, Dr. Famous Eseduwo, the minister enjoined the unions to cooperate with the government to ensure the success of the PIA implementation.

“As we speak, efforts towards staff reorganisation are in top gear, in line with the legal framework of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). I am sure that NUPENG and PENGASSAN are to be represented in the process so that there will be no stone left unturned.

“PIA has brought about enormous changes in the industry that will attract investment in the sector and the sincere support of your members is inevitable for a seamless implementation of the act. I enjoin the incoming leadership to participate in the process of implementing the PIA to sustain the existing industrial harmony,” he stressed.

The minister further urged the union to ensure that its ongoing elections are conducted in line with its constitution to ensure a free, fair and credible process.