TheCable

The federal government says it will retain employees of the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, said this on Wednesday in Abuja during meetings with employees of the affected organisations.

On Monday, the minister inaugurated Gbenga Komolafe as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) and Farouk Ahmed as CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

As specified by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the two regulatory agencies are to perform the duties of the defunct DPR, PPPRA and PEF.

Sylva assured workers that they would be absorbed into the new agencies.

“This is a very normal transition because the PIA has been passed and the law stipulates that certain actions must be taken; that the DPR has to wind down and two successor agencies have to be inaugurated. Even me as a minister had to step down as chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as you all are aware,” Sylva said.

“It is all because of what the law states. So, when I hear the DPR director has been sacked, the PPPRA director has been sacked and the PEF director has been sacked, that’s not reflective of the situation.

“The PIA has established these agencies to succeed the DPR and the heads of these agencies have been appointed in the wisdom of the president and they have also been cleared by the national assembly.”

Sylva explained that the CEOs of the defunct agencies would no longer have any role since the political leadership of the successor agencies had been appointed.

“But I want to assure you that staff have nothing to worry about because the law is very clear on the position of the staff of all the agencies. No job will be lost in this process, no remuneration will be lost in this process,” he added.

“Of course, the process is ongoing, and there’s a transition implementation committee which has been sitting, and the CEOs will join the implementation committees. We will work together to ensure that there is a seamless transition.”