Award: PIA ensured optimum productivity in petroleum ministry – Perm Sec.
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Dr Vitalis Obi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, says the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has brought out the best in the staff of the ministry going by the high level of productivity they have exhibited.
Obi said this on Wednesday in Abuja during the 2025 ministerial award presentation to outstanding retirees of the ministry for 2024.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Ministerial Awards Committee (MASCO) presented meritorious awards and presented huge gifts to its 25 officials who successfully completed their service in the Federal Civil Service.
Obi said the PIA had left the ministry without a choice but to aim for excellence in achieving the lofty objectives for the oil and gas industry.
“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources is strategically placed to facilitate optimum productivity and enabling environment for excellence to thrive; we cannot afford to fail the nation.
“The ministry is full of admiration of your selfless contributions, effective representations and creative ideas which, not only gave it good rating among government Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), but also brought enviable milestones for the sector.
“Your positive attitude and team work was a source of inspiration for many young officers who have already toe the line of creativity and innovativeness to the admiration of all,” he said.
The permanent secretary urged the retirees to derive fulfilled as they had been privileged to be part of the policy and structural reforms which were repositioning the service to global standards.
“We will not hesitate to contact you where and whenever we require your wealth of experience in resolving key bureaucratic challenges.”
He said recognising staff who had demonstrated excellence in different fields of service delivery was part of the broader reforms introduced by the government towards restoring dignity of labour and indeed returning the Civil Service to its glory days.
“A well-motivated civil servant is the true engine of national development,” he said.
In her remarks, Mrs Adaji Shehu, Director Human Resources Management, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, said service delivery and ethical conduct of staff had improved tremendously and had become highly competitive, with the implementation of the Award and Recognition System.
She formally welcomed the Permanent Secretary, who within his short time of stay in the ministry, had left no one in doubt about his mandate, policy direction and priorities, among which is staff welfare.
“I appeal to senior officers who are in management positions to take the issue of mentorship very seriously, because it is one of the ways to leave a legacy.
Speaking with NAN, one of the retirees, Mrs Oluremi Komolafe, former Director, Gas, said she was elated to have served the country in various capacities from the position of a pool staff.
“Every little thing we do matters, there is nothing in the schedule of work that does not add to national development, in the long run,” she said.
Komolafe, while emphasising that the gas industry had yet to be fully tapped, said facilitating sufficiency and deepening domestic utilisation especially at the rural areas were important.
Also speaking, Mr Isa Babagana, who retired as a Chief Statistician in the Department of Planning, Research and Statistics, urged civil servants to be hardworking, straightforward and honest to ensure a rewarding service.
Mr Kamoru Busari, former Director Upstream, Mrs Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, Deputy Director Press and Mrs Gladis Obi, CEO ICT, were among the retirees.
