The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has assured staff of the dissolved agencies the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF), and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) that their jobs will be not be taken away.
Sylva said this during his visit to the offices of the agencies in Abuja, following the dissolution of the agencies, replacing them with the Upstream Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream & Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA).
He also assured that the remuneration of the staff was still intact, adding that the government was working to ensure a “seamless transition”.
He said, “It is normal that at junction like this, there are anxieties and that is why I thought I should come by myself along with the permanent secretary to assure you that this is a very normal transition. The PIA has been passed and the law stipulates that certain actions must be taken.
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“That the DPR as it is then was to be wound down and two successor agencies were to be inaugurated. And of course myself, I have to step down as Chairman of the NNPC (board) as you all are aware. It is all because this is what the law states.”
The minister added that the “situation is that the PIA has established these two agencies to succeed the DPR, PPPRA and PEF, and the heads of these agencies have been appointed by the President in his wisdom and they have also been cleared by the National assembly.
“It therefore means that the political leaderships of the DPR, PEF and the PPPRA will no longer have any place since the political leaderships of the successor agencies have now been appointed.
“But I want to assure you that staffs of DPR have nothing to worry about because the law is very clear also on the position of the staff of the DPR, PEF and PPPRA. No job is to be lost in this process, no remuneration is be lost in this process.
“The process is ongoing and the implementation committee is working on it, and the new CEOs will join that committee and we will work together to ensure that there is a seamless transition.”
