Crisis Looms Over Planned Recall of 11 DPR Deputy Directors

Action capable of destabilising Nigeria’s oil sector regulator

The gains recorded by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) as the regulator of the oil and gas sector may be wiped out soon if the move to recall some directors who were recently retired by the agency is not handled properly, THISDAY learnt yesterday.

It was gathered that the DPR had been directed to recall 11 deputy directors who were asked to proceed on retirement in March this year, after a petition by the affected directors.

The DPR had in what it termed: “Reorganisation of the Department of Petroleum Resources-Retirement from Service,” retired some top management staff, including Dr. M.M. Zagi, Sani Hassan, A.Buba, E.Amadasu, A.R. Shakur U.B. Nkanda, M.A. Alaku, A.E. Antaih, Bassey Nkanga, Isa Tafida, and J.M Ajewole.

The affected directors were said to have sought the intervention of the authorities in a March 30, 2021 petition, and called for rescind of the decision. They argued that retirement from service was upon the attainment of 60 years of age or 35 years of service.

The Head of Service (HoS) was alleged to have investigated the matter, prompting the decision to recall them to the oil and gas sector regulatory agency, a situation that is causing tension in the important government agency.

But THISDAY learnt from sources in the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources that a crisis might ensue if the directive takes effect, as offices of the retired staff are now occupied by others who have moved up the ladder and may sour the smooth relationship between the unions and the management.

A source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stressed that the position of the affected staff that they had not reached the age of retirement was untenable since with or without attaining the statutory retirement criteria, the appointment of staff found liable under Section 18.10.6 (Vi & Viii) Corporate Policy and Procedure Guide (CPPG) may be terminated.

In addition, the rules may be applied in instances where fraud or dishonesty and disloyalty through divulging official secret or classified documents at the detriment of the organisation, is found to be true.

THISDAY further learnt that a substantive director of the organisation was empowered to reorganise the structure to fit into the vision of the federal government of an effective and efficient industry regulator.

While the reorganisation was usually done with the exigencies of the job and set goals for achieving the corporate mission and vision, the source noted that the movement or redeployment of staff was usually carried out as the need arises to achieve set goals, including the retirement of staff that fall short of expectations.

He stated, “Approval for such reorganisation was duly obtained from the president, who is also the Minister of Petroleum Resources, which was conveyed via a letter from the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President to the Minister of State, and authority given to proceed.

“The HoS directive questions the power of Mr President/ Minister of Petroleum Resources to authorise the reorganisation of the department to reflect the aspirations of the petroleum industry, which is unprecedented.

“The affected staff in addition to resorting to superior influence through the HoS also have sought legal relief through the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), thereby effectively suing Mr President who is the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources.”

It was learnt that except for one of the affected staff, all the 10 other retirees had duly signed for and collected their terminal benefits worth over N2 billion since April 2021.

In addition, four of those already laid off were said to be among the five claimants in the deposition at the NICN, Abuja, seeking additional N100 million for wrongful retirement, it was gathered.

In a statement on Monday, DPR said the restructuring process necessitated the retirement of the management staff to pave the way for realignment of job functions, creation of new strategic business units, as well as promotion of deserving staff to various positions.

According to the DPR, the reorganisation had brought a new lease of life to the affairs of the agency given the successes recorded in the oil and gas industry value chain in the last few months, including the successful conclusion of the marginal field bid round award and inauguration of the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC).