DPR and Nigeria’s prosperity By Mohammed Dauda Eibo

One thing men of clout have in common is their taciturnity.
Most goal getters do their thing without blowing the rooftop with praise singing.
No sector in Nigeria suffers the syndrome of ‘empty drums making the loudest noise’ more than the public sector.
By sheer bad luck, Nigeria’s public sector is inexplicably under the full control of what could be said to be worse than empty noise making drums.
Thus, this piece is aimed at amplifying the achievements of the current management in the apex petroleum regulatory agency in Nigeria, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
Following the gargantuan turnaround and expansion for better service delivery to all nooks and crannies in the country DPR now has offices in virtually every state capital.
In fact, only few state capitals are yet to have one but with the diligent and determined management, offices will soon be built for states such as Taraba, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, etc.
This will enhance supervision and monitoring of petroleum products in accordance with DPR’s mandates.
If every state capital, particularly border areas, has DPR office(s) issues of fuel diversion which is the bane for surveillance will be curtailed and economic activities will be buoyed.
DPR is a federal government agency saddled with the responsibilities of the supervision and the monitoring of all the operations and activities relating to the oil and gas sector in the country.
It is also responsible for the setting of standards and guidelines for operations involving monitoring of oil drilling sites, production platforms -flow stations, crude oil export terminals, refineries, storage depots, pump stations, petroleum filling stations, petroleum product pipelines and other locations where petroleum and other related products are either stored or sold; and all pipelines carrying crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products, among others.
More so, it plays the advisory role to the government and relevant agencies on technical matters and public policies that may have impact on the administration and petroleum activities.
The pivotal roles DPR plays as an agency of government in ensuring that customers get value for their money as demonstrated recently, makes the grant of a full autonomy to DPR, just like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), long overdue.
In fact, but for DPR’s adequate supervision and sanctioning of erring operators in the oil and gas sector, most Nigerians would have been shortchanged by some sharp practices.
DPR’s recent statement that the federal government has earned N748 billion from taxes and royalties paid by oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria lend credence to the ingenuity of the present leadership’s acumen and veracity to take the apex petroleum regulatory agency to an enviable height.
This is exemplary and should be sustained to ensure that more funds are generated for the country.
The DPR under the headship of Mr.
Mordecai Danteni Ladan is achieving its mission and vision for its establishment many years ago.
The director has performed credibly since assuming duties whereby erring pump filling stations are sanctioned accordingly.
Under Ladan, DPR has meticulously carried out it functions of enforcing all laws guiding the oil and gas sector, implementing government’s policies and programmes, timely collection of royalties, rents and other regulated fees on behalf of the federal government without hurdle, and the monitoring of government indigenization policy to ensure that the local content policy is achieved.
The outburst of elation that greeted the appointment of Mr.
Mordecai Danteni Ladan as Director of DPR may have reverberated beyond the confines of its headquarters at No.
7, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
And for most close observers, the ecstasy was not utterly unanticipated.
Many industry stakeholders saw the appointment as a breath of fresh air, especially after the catastrophic experience of acute fuel scarcity in Nigeria.
Few months to his assumption of office, Mr.
Ladan was seen virtually everywhere, particularly at pump filling stations doing the needful.
Since assumption of duties as director, the apex regulatory agency has witnessed tremendous achievements as many petroleum experts attest to the fact that Ladan’s appointment to oversee the activities of the DPR is unarguably a right step in the right direction considering the turnaround at the agency.
A petro-chemist, Ladan joined DPR on November 23, 1987 as a Senior Analytical Chemist.
He was deployed to the Safety and Environment branch under the then Technical Services Division.
He rose through the ranks to occupy various key positions within the organization, including Zonal Operations Controller, DPR Kaduna.
Having attained the rank of Deputy Director, he became Head, Downstream Monitoring and Regulation Division from October 2005 to June 2013.
Ladan’s colleagues describe him as a rare gem, a workaholic and a team leader who is taking DPR to enviable heights.
Prior to his appointment as director, he was Head, Gas Monitoring and Regulation Division from June 2013 to May 2014 and later became the Head, Safety, Health and Environment Division in May 2014 until his current position.
A highly visionary and astute administrator, Ladan is a Fulbright scholar (Hubert H.
Humphrey, North-South Fellow) where he bagged a Certificate in Environmental and Regulatory Policy/Public Affairs in June 1991.
He also bagged M.Sc.
Petrochemicals and Hydrocarbon Chemistry from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, UK in March 1986.
Also in his kitty is a B.Sc.
(Hons) in Chemistry from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (July 1982); West African School Certificate from the Federal Government College, Kano (June 1978).
Born on June 24, 1957, Ladan is married with children.
And for the agility of taking the apex petroleum agency to the next level for the nation’s economic prosperity, this writer calls for the grant of full ‘autonomy’ to the DPR by the President Muhammadu Buhari government.
Nigeria should be rest assured that DPR’s core mandates will be achieved to the fullest as Ladan and his top management echelon have achieved greatness through sheer hard work, honesty and commitment.
As a petro-chemist, business administrator par excellence, eloquent scholar and patriot, Ladan is also selfless, humble, and a team player.
It is his philosophy that managers should at all times live exemplary lives of service and value-addition.
He is focused on ensuring that DPR staff work towards the full actualization of agency’s mandates, which is necessary for any organization to thrive.
In fact, he strongly believes the DPR has a critical role to play in helping the government actualize its policies and programmes, especially in infrastructure development through its statutory functions.
Dauda Eibo, a media and communications specialist, writes in via [email protected]; 08036330545