Mohammed Shosanya

The Alara of Ara –Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Fatoba,the only monarch who survived the attack by kidnappers says the grace of God saw him through the ordeal and not supernatural powers ,as being speculated.

Oba Fatoba,who admitted that the barrage of bullets fired at him by the hoodlums did penetrate through his body,expressed sadness that his other colleagues monarchs were not so lucky.

He described his late colleagues as also brave leaders who sacrificed their lives for the peace of their communities and Ekiti State in general.

According to Alara, the three monarchs put up a fight with the kidnappers before they were overpowered with superior fire arms .

He said the deafening sounds of guns could not allow the local hunters to near the scene of the attack.

He said: ” We have about 25 communities in Ikole and there was a security Committee which I am the chairman and one of the deceased monarchs was the Vice chairman.

“There has been repeated attacks by herders on farmers in our areas because we have large forests here.So when the attack was becoming too frequent on our people we sought permission from the Police to intervene and the permit was granted.

“So ,we received another report of an attack by herders where one of our people was killed between Ayebode and Ayedun, we decided to move in .We had visited the community where the incident happened. We were discussing the issue of late Onimojo , an associate Professor who was planning to move from Federal University of Technology (FUTA) to Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) on our back along Irele when these herders appeared from no where.

“We never knew they many, because about three of them pointed guns at us. We tried to struggle with them but they began to fire at us from different directions. Though , the bullets did not enter but I realized that they fully armed with sophisticated weapons and break away from scene surges forward to check point mounted by our local hunters .

“But seeing the high grade fire arms and sporadic gunshots, they couldn’t advance. I ,even asked one of our local hunters to return fire but his Dane gun could not work .By the time I looked back, I saw my colleagues Oba in the pool of their own bloods. It was a very sad experience, my colleagues monarchs sacrificed their lives and died for their people. I would admit that the bullets did not penetrate through my body but I did not disappear, as being speculated. ” Oba Fatoba said .

Mohammed Shosanya

Workers of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) have expressed reservation at the appointment of Ms. Olaide Shaw as Director in the Commission.

They implored President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to quickly redress the appointment, insisting that “a purported and unsubstantiated Presidential Directive signed by the Principal Secretary, Hakeem Muri Okunola to President Tinubu directing the Commission Executive Director, Engr. Komolafe Gbenga to employ Ms Olaide as Director “”goes contrary to the adherence to the established rules and regulations governing recruitment, promotion and cadre placement practices within the Commission.”

In a petition by Mathew Kola and Hassan Madibo, on behalf of the Staff of the Commission, the workers also maintained that “the recruitment of Ms. Olaide is an aberration of laid down recruitment and promotion guidelines as enumerated in the PIA 2021 and public service rules.”

The staff said “President Tinubu, the Chief law officer of the land will not endorse any deliberate attempt at aberration of the law and laid down procedures”, pointing out that the letter in question directing the employment of Ms. Olaide could not have emanated from the President.

They maintained that the need to uphold the principles of justice and fairness towards maintaining a harmonious working environment in the face of the President’s anti-corruption war cannot be overemphasized, and appealed that he swiftly reverse the fraudulent employment of Ms Olaide.

Besides,the staff called on President Tinubu to act swiftly, by reviewing the situation in NUPRC so as to rectify the irregularity of the employment of Ms Olaide.

They also accused Mr. Gbenga Komolafe the CCE of the non-payment of staff benefits and remittances of deducted funds to the staff co-operative.

They implored President Tinubu to probe the high level alleged corruption under the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer, direct the completion of investigation of the CCE by EFCC who was allegedly accused alongside Mrs Deiziani Alison Maduke former Minister of Petroleum.

Theybfurther demanded an investigation into the alleged missing 48 ship loads of crude oil that got lost between 2015 and 2016 for which the CCE was allegedly involved, as the head of crude oil export in NNPC.

“We urge Mr. President to investigate by directing the EFCC to look into the books of account how the CCE, between December 15th 2023 and January 15th awarded contracts, paid in full to the tune of not less than N12billion without due process and for training that never happened to companies used but not qualified”.

Pointing out that the recruitment of Ms. Olaide is a deviation from established procedures,they said if allowed, would lead to an aberration of the law governing employment and promotion within the Commission.

“That Ms Olaide, is only 39 years old with a debatable 19 years of experience.”

“That going by the rules, Ms Olaide is not qualified for the role of a Director which stipulates that the role of Director, a person must have a minimum of a Degree in the relevant field with a minimum of 22 years post qualification experience, at least 15 years of which should be in the Oil industry or allied activities and 12 years in a senior management position.”

“That the role of a Director is a natural career path for staff progression upon several promotions and not an appointment level. The position is occupied based on Federal Character.”

“That there is a clear distinction between political appointment and permanent pensionable recruitment in the Federal Civil Service guiding all MDAs.”

“That Ms. Olaide is currently a Manager at ExxonMobil Nigeria, the corresponding role for which translates into being at best a Deputy Manager to manager in the Commission.”

“That there are several qualified acting Directors that have rose through the ranks in the Commission that are now sidelines for an unqualified and inexperienced illegal employment of Ms. Olaide as a Director in NUPRC.”

The staff in their petition said failure to redress the anomaly’s by President Tinubu would have severe implications for the Commission to reduce staff motivation and morale, decrease trust and cooperation.

The staff said failure to resolve the issue swiftly by reversing the employment of Ms Olaide in the best interest of both the Commission, its employees and the nation would lead to increased conflict and grievances, potential legal ramifications as well as setting a bad precedent.

Spokesperson of NUPRC,Mrs.Olaide Shonola,told Premium News that the Commission is still studying the situation,and will reply at the appropriate time.