Coalition Groups Urge Nigerians To Desist From Baseless Arguments To Nation Building

…Endorses Redeployment Of NUPRC Personnel To Lagos

…Says Redeployment of NUPRC Personnel will promote efficiency of staff

Members of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations have urged Nigerians at all levels to desist from attaching ethnicity and baseless arguments to the development of the nation.

The coalition groups said the process should be endorsed and supported by Nigerians as this development will not only bring NUPRC closer to the oil and gas companies and other stakeholders, but it will also position the agency to operate more efficiently as well as maximising returns to the government and the country.

A spokesperson for the groups, Comrade Shina Loremikan, made the call on Friday while reacting to the controversies surrounding the redeployment of some personnel of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to Lagos.

Recall that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on February 14, had proposed the movement of a number of its units from Abuja to Lagos following the inadequacy of office space at its Federal Capital Territory (FCT) headquarters.

Addressing journalists at a press conference on Friday in Lagos, Loremikan admonished Nigerians to support the decision, stressing that the decision will foster accountability and save the country from resource wastage.

Loremikan added that the move is in line with president Bola Tinubu’s commitment to reducing costs as well as curtailing wastage and enhancing service delivery across all the Nigerian agencies.

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His words partly read, “We, members of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, endorse the redeployment of some personnel of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission to foster accountability, productivity and cost savings to the nation.

“The NUPRC also has the mandate to monitor operations to ensure that they are in line with national goals and aspirations, including those relating to Natural Gas Flare elimination and monetization, Domestic Gas Delivery Obligations and Domestic crude oil supply obligations and ensures that Health Safety and Environmental regulations conform to national and international best oil field practice.

“Consequently, some persons, including politicians and analysts, who are aware of its various roles, have come to perceive the actions of NUPRC more from the realm of politics than economics.

“They keep a close watch on the activities in the agency and would complain about almost every development that does not fit into their pre-conceived idealism, instead of embracing realism based on purely economic considerations.

“Meanwhile, NUPRC still bears the financial and other costs of taking them frequently to Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt to carry out their official duties. After due consideration and in line with President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to cut costs, eliminate wastages and enhance service delivery, the Engr. Gbenga Komolafe-led NUPRC started consulting with key stakeholders, especially the labour unions.

“The consultation culminated in the taking of the decision, targeted at reducing pressure on accommodation in Abuja, maximising the use of the Lagos-based office, reducing operational costs, improving organisational efficiency and enhancing industry growth.

“Sadly, the decision has been unduly politicised and misconstrued to mean leaving Abuja. This constitutes a distraction to the NUPRC under the leadership of Engr. Komolafe means so well for the industry and Nigeria as illustrated in the bold steps taken to make a positive impact in the past few years. Already, NUPRC has developed regulations, giving meaning and intent to the PIA, to ensure that all bottlenecks associated with regulatory processes are eliminated, to entrench seamless upstream petroleum operations.

“Indeed, the planned movement of field officers to Lagos should be endorsed and supported by everyone as it promises to not only bring NUPRC much closer to the oil and gas companies and other stakeholders but also position the agency to operate more efficiently while minimising cost and maximizing returns to the government and nation.

“In conclusion, we need to state that in nation-building Nigerians should desist from attaching ethnicity and baseless arguments to nation-building.

“We as a group, believe in nation-building and support this effort of the agency”, Loremikan stated.

Loremikan, therefore, indulged Nigerians to support the move as this will bring development to the oil and gas companies as well as other stakeholders of the sector.