FG Calls for Early End-of-service Preparation as Petroleum Ministry Celebrates Retirees

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

As part of efforts aimed at boosting the morale of workers, both retiring and serving, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, has honoured 16 civil servants who retired from the ministry in 2022.

In his address at a ceremony organised in honour of the retirees, the Permanent Secretary, Gabriel Aduda thanked them for dedicating a considerable number of years to the service of Nigeria.

“We want you to know that we appreciate you. You have given Nigeria 35 years of your life. The nation appreciates what you have done. It couldn’t have been better done by anyone.

“That is why today, we are not taking it lightly to celebrate persons like you. Our sincere prayer is that, as you retire from service, you do not retire from life,” Aduda noted in a statement signed by the Director of Information at the ministry, Bob-Manuel Enefaa.

The permanent secretary also admonished staff who are still in active service to earnestly put in place a retirement plan and not necessarily wait  till the last day in service.

He posited that employees should be deliberate about their retirement plans, work towards it and channel their training and opportunities towards it, so that by the time they are exiting paid employment, they have something to fall back on.

Against the backdrop of the dominance of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) with regards to succession, Aduda emphasised the need to begin to build and strengthen indigenous capacities. In this regard, he noted that the ministry must play a critical role.