Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, disclosed that it has undertaken a staff restructuring exercise, with the retirement of 11 senior management staff and redeployment of 19 others.
Search On For Niger Soldiers Missing After Ambush(Opens In A New Browser Tab)
In a statement in Abuja, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the corporation, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, stated that in all, 30 senior staff were affected by both the statutory retirements and redeployment.
According to the NNPC, such replacements are always effected before the final exit of the concerned staff.
He explained that the recent staff movements in NNPC was normal replacement and backfill exercise to bridge the gap occasioned by impending retirement of some management staff of the corporation, among others.
The NNPC spokesman noted that it was usual for NNPC to obtain necessary approvals on replacements of retiring staff ahead of schedule, saying this was the case with the recent exercise that takes effect as at when the retiring staff depart at various times within the period.
According to him, the exercise was effected to ensure uninterrupted operations of NNPC in achieving its mandate, adding that extant corporate guidelines were strictly followed in the process.
He advised members of the public to disregard the insinuation that some staff of the NNPC were relieved of their duties, stating that the deployments were expected and aimed at sustaining the system.
Ughamadu gave the list of staff on statutory retirement between May 1 and July 31 this year to include: General Manager, Chad Basin, Aniya Francis Umaru, who is from the North-East of the country and retired on May 6, 2019; Adewale Solomon Ladenegan, Managing Director, KRPC, who hails from South-West and retired on May 13, 2019 and Musa Sulyman Gimba, who is the Group General Manager, NNPC Leadership Academy, who also is from North-East and retired on May 14, 2019, among others.

COAS Turai Buratai

While not judging the self-appointed critics of General Buratai, it is, however, instructive to know that many Nigerians, especially those whose professionalism and patriotism of the Nigerian Army has positively rubbed on, would have nothing to say about the leadership of Buratai.
Appointed on July 13, 2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari to salvage a severe and precarious situation the government inherited, security-wise, Buratai has been in office for 45 months, and under any standard of assessment, as relating to the situation the government inherited and what is on the ground today, the COAS has bequeathed to himself a commendable tenure.
But as they say, the reward for hard work is more work.
While not pushing a picture of perfection, it is, however, established that the Army Chief, within a short period of time, has been able to galvanize and lead a relatively discouraged and unmotivated soldiers that he inherited to a veritable team of patriotic officers who are now willing to put all they have in defence of the county and her territory.
Beyond the incredible redemption of parts of the country’s territory annexed by the Boko Haram in 2014 and the restoration of peace and stability in the northeast, and other troubled parts of the Country, the Army Chief has been able to professionalize the military institution through his ingenuity as a strategist and tactician.
Speaking with members of the Guild of Editors at their conference held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Buratai said his vision is to have a professional and responsive army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.
He said: “In order to maintain such pride, I have laid structures for effective leadership and personnel management because the army must strive to remain as an institution of authority.
“It is to create responsibilities, provide direction, inspiration, vision and communicate same to personnel at all times.”
On human rights, the Nigerian Army, under Buratai has experienced a marked departure from its past rocky relationship with human rights bodies, but now engages them as partners rather than rivals in the internal security operations.
The Army leadership has been able to close the gap with the civil populace, human rights agencies and Civil Society Organizations, CSOs.
Gbagyi Community: Buratai Reacts To Protests, Says Army Legally Acquired Land In FCT(Opens In A New Browser Tab)
Human rights and legal bodies such as National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Amnesty International (AI), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) have lauded the Nigerian Army for its efforts at ensuring peace and tranquility in the country.
How Sister-in-law Deceived, Trafficked Me To Oman – Victim Turned Activist(Opens In A New Browser Tab)
Also, as a way of investigating all cases of human rights violations involving the army and improving its image, General Buratai established the Human Rights Desk under the Department of Civil/Military Affairs (CMA).
The reinstated 3,032 soldiers who were convicted of various offences through series of General Court Marshall, GCM, set up by previous Army leadership were full of appreciation to the current leadership of the army under General Buratai.
Don’t Politicise Our Military, PDP Warns Buratai
(Opens In A New Browser Tab)
No doubt, General Buratai has decided to undertake a transformation of the service.
The training in the Nigerian Army has been modified. As a Service Chief under the administration of President Buhari, who is an apostle of excellence, it is not surprising that the COAS has wholeheartedly embraced the change agenda and is driving the Army along that line.
He has repositioned the Nigerian Army and it is now better placed to face contemporary security challenges and fit into the democratic setting, which has been firmly entrenched in the country.
The Nigerian Army, under General Buratai, has continued its excellent showing in the international circles in the area of peace keeping.
It is instructive to note that Nigerian soldiers on peace keeping mission have excelled as there has been no report of soldiers misbehaving and getting involved in embarrassing and criminal activities.
Also, Nigerian Soldiers are now well-motivated than ever as they are getting the required support as at when needed.
General Buratai cuts the image of an uncommon soldier; tough on the battlefront but gentle as a dove on the home front. He has a pedigree of being a torn in the flesh of insurgents, insurrectionists and other enemies of Nigeria. He is a Soldier’s Soldier, gallant, resourceful, courageous and humane.
He has brought laughter to many faces, enhanced the development of many communities across Nigeria, he has numerous philanthropic and humanitarian gestures to his name; he has supported many Internally Displaced Persons in the Northeast to resettle and assist them with implements and tractors to clear bushy surroundings, construction of roads and boosting of farming.
Though in the throes of few challenges, the Nigeria Army, under General Buratai, has remained resolute and committed to maintaining the territorial integrity of the borders as well as keeping the nation one and democracy intact.
Today, it is no longer in doubt that the Nigeria Army under Buratai is more than ever before committed to its constitutional responsibilities.
It is, therefore, not out of place to state that General Buratai has lived up to expectations and Nigerians are proud of his leadership. With this kind of leadership, the Nigeria Army is surely poised to help nurture and protect our democracy to maturity.
*Comrade Odeyemi, a security analyst and counter terrorist expert is the Convener of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups against terrorism in Nigeria.

A Camp Nou colleague of the mercurial Argentina international has paid tribute to a man who makes things “much easier” for those around him
Lionel Messi “never gets tired of scoring goals”, says Barcelona team-mate Sergi Roberto, with the Argentine having landed another Pichichi Trophy for 2018-19.
A final day brace in a 2-2 draw with Eibar saw the mercurial Argentine finish as the leading scorer in La Liga for a record-equalling sixth time in his remarkable career .
He has topped that particular chart for three successive years, despite the previous two having seen him competing with Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid for major honours.
Messi no longer faces a battle with a Portuguese forward for individual prizes in Spain, but he has shown no sign of slowing down after seeing an eternal rival head to Juventus.
Instead, the 31-year-old has taken his game up a notch and reached the 50-goal mark once more across all competitions.
He is the firm favourite to claim a sixth Ballon d’Or in 2019 , with those around him at Camp Nou continuing to watch on in amazement as an all-time great cements his legacy.
Roberto told reporters after seeing Messi bag a double against Eibar: “He never gets tired of scoring goals and that makes football much easier and better for us.”
There could yet be more goals to come from the South American.
Having already wrapped up another La Liga title, Barcelona have the chance to complete a domestic double in a Copa del Rey final date with Valencia on May 25.
“This match helped us prepare for the Copa final,” added Roberto.
“Although nothing was on the line, they always pressed forward and it was a very hard fought contest. We weren’t able to get the victory but we’re happy with the work we put in.”
He went on to say: “We want to win the cup and go on holiday with two titles in the bag.
“La Liga is more about consistency and we’ve shown that we’re the best.
“We’re 11 points ahead of second, Atletico Madrid, which means we’ve had a great season despite being eliminated from the Champions League.”
The 2018-19 campaign has been a productive one for Barca, with only Liverpool denying them in Europe following a stunning Champions League semi-final turnaround at Anfield.
Messi has once again been the man to lead by example for Ernesto Valverde’s side, with it likely that he will soon have another Golden Shoe to add to his ever-growing honours collection .
Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe is the only man who can realistically catch him on that chart, although the France international does need four goals from one game against Stade Reims in order to match Messi.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton