DPR to Recruit 300 New Workers

The federal government has approved the employment of 300 new staff for the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). This step is taken to address the problem of inadequate staffing currently plaguing the department.
Chief Executive Officer of the department, Mr. Mathew Obaje was reported to have disclosed this at the quadrennial branch delegate conference of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) which took place in Abuja last week.
Obaje had disclosed that the process of recruitment has since commenced and he also assured that by the time the exercise is concluded the manpower shortage in the department would have been met.
The department is currently saddled with the responsibility of issuing operations license to oil facilities in the country, a responsibility which necessitates that requirements as it relate to safety and quality must be adhered to. The DPR also handles renewal of licenses of oil depots. It also checks the quality of the petroleum products being imported into the country.
Official sources at the DPR however told Shipping Position Weekly in Lagos that the need for recruitment of the 300 additional workers had been pointed out prior to this time by the former minister of state for petroleum resources, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia in order to address acute shortage of manpower for the ever – increasing oil and gas facilities in the downstream sector.
According to the chairman of Lagos zonal council of NUPENG, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo who also spoke to our correspondent on the highpoints of the quadrennial branch delegate conference, the union had advised the DPR to ensure that it properly accounts for the revenue it generates for the federal government in order to further develop the department and enhance its operations.
He explained that the union also gave its opinion on the proposed petroleum industry bill which is yet to be passed into law by the National Assembly, and that it advised that the government should ensure that the bill is passed earnestly so as to correct key ills in the sector.