Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has approved the immediate promotion of 195 staff of the new Commission.
The promotion approval was a proactive move to stem any industrial action and boost the dwindling revenue from crude oil production, he said.
Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja, following the approval of the promotion, Komolafe said that human capital is a critical and essential element of production.
“I have ensured immediate approval for the promotion of 195 staff that have been stagnated in the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
“This will stem industrial crisis that could further harm the low daily oil production in Nigeria and worsen the nation’s generated oil revenue.
“The staff need to be happy before they can work and we have 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 quota, which is currently below what we should be producing,” Komolafe said.
The NUPRC boss said that the decision to promote the staff followed his engagements and assurances to the agitated staff.
He added that the measure is also to boost staff morale and ensure that they were not short-changed in the unfolding transition and manpower re-organisations in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
He noted that there is positive correlation between boosting the nation’s crude production for optimised federation revenue and elevated staff morale in NUPRC.
Komolafe, however, re-emphasised the critical and significant moment in the oil and gas sector of the economy, especially the call for diversification in the sector by key global stakeholders.
He further added that the best and only option opened to the commission is to maximise the benefits from fossil fuels.
“So what we have done is by extension to improve the nation’s revenue by increasing crude oil production from the current level of 1.4 mbbls/d to 2.4 mbbls/d,’’ he noted.
He urged the staff to reciprocate the gesture with enhanced service delivery in their determination to leave a legacy of 21st century regulator business enabler commission.
Komolafe had last week, during a podcast to staff across the country, said “the commission’s management shall be fair to all and sundry in leadership approach.”
According to him, the commission shall address issues of worker’s welfare and give priority to good industrial relations while human capital capacity development will be stringently pursued to ensure high standard of professionalism.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NUPRC is saddled with the responsibility of regulating the technical and commercial activities of the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector. (NAN)
