NNPC carpets NPDC staff, labels them incompetent & compromised

*NNPC-Towers, Central Business District, Garki, Abuja.

*Threatens massive shake-up for ‘national interest’

Ike Amos

Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Tuesday, accused staff of its upstream subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, of compromise and incompetence.

In a statement signed by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, the NNPC said these necessitated the redeployment of 12 management staff of the NPDC, adding that this was in a bid to reposition the company to meet its production and reserve targets.

Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, of the NNPC, Mr. Rowland Ewubare, added that the shake-up in the NPDC was a routine exercise that was still ongoing, stressing that other staff that were not suitable for the posts they were currently occupying would be redeployed for national interest.

He said, “Upon assumption of office, an evaluation of personnel was carried out which indicated incompetence and compromise on the part of some staff which necessitated the shake-up. They also failed to provide efficient leadership for some of the assets needed to reposition the company.
“I must put on record that the changes would continue until we get the right optimal managerial talents for the management of those critical assets.”

He said the reorganization became imperative following the urgent need of the current management to grow the NPDC into a big time exploration and production company.

Ewubare stated that for the NPDC to measure up to its peers, it needed a team of professionals that were fit-for-purpose and could deliver on project timelines and budgets.

He explained that with the presidential mandate, it was appropriate to have a team of professionals who understood the urgency of the mission, dismissing any insinuation that trailed the exercise.
“The redeployment that just took place in NPDC is a signal to all members of staff that it is no longer business as usual. We are determined, as a management, to meet the four cardinal points of Transparency, Accountability with Performance Excellence (TAPE).

“Therefore, the redeployment has nothing to do with ethnicity, religion, or any sectional interest. The current NNPC management reflects all the six geo-political zones,” Ewubare stated.

Ewubare maintained that NPDC, as the exploration and production arm of the corporation, was strategic to the achievement of the target to grow the nation’s reserves and production to 40 billion and three million barrels per day by 2023.

He added that that with the President’s clear mandate the management was prepared to rejig personnel to meet the target.