Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, has officially welcomed its new Board Chairman, Chief Edward Segun Omo-Erewa, marking a significant milestone for the agency following his familiarization visit.
The brief ceremony, held at the NOSDRA headquarters, was attended by the Director-General/Chief Executive and the Management staff of the agency who gathered to welcome the new Chairman.
In his welcome address, the DG of NOSDRA, Engr. Chukwuemeka Woke, expressed his joy and delight at the Chairman’s appointment and assumption of office, describing it as putting a square peg in a square hole.
Engr. Woke provided a brief overview of NOSDRA’s core mission and values, emphasising the agency’s commitment to conserving the environment in the nation’s petroleum industry with an eye to promoting sustainable development.
He used the opportunity to assure the Chairman of the Management team’s support, stressing that his coming onboard was to complement their efforts.
He said: “We are open for cooperation. We are open to criticism. There is no going to be any form of rivalry. We will work in collaboration with the Board”
The new Board Chairman, in his remarks, stated that he accepted his appointment with humility and expressed gratitude for the warm reception given to him by the agency.
Chief Omo-Erewa stressed the importance of all and sundry to work together to ensure that things work out in the agency, adding that the DG was not only handling his position but also was the Secretary of the Governing board.
He commended Engr. Woke for remarkable efforts he had made so far since his appointment in positively changing the narrative and fortunes of NOSDRA and pledged to complement his efforts.
While acknowledging the challenges facing NOSDRA, including lack of own office building, financial struggles and inadequate logistics and staff welfare, he charged the Management staff to put heads together in order to find solution to challenges facing the agency by, among others, demonstrating ability to show that it was not a joke with a view to generating more government assistance.
The Chairman assured the staff that his priority would be to address militating challenges and ensure that NOSDRA was well-equipped to effectively carry out its statutory mandate, apart from emphasising the importance of the staff to be more disciplined.
He harped on the need for collective effort and teamwork to drive positive change and achieve NOSDRA’s goals and objectives.
In particular, Omo-Erewa stressed the agency’s commitment to tackling oil spillage and ensuring that all responsible parties were held accountable.
He pledged to take an aggressive approach to enforcing environmental regulations geared towards preserving the environment in the petroleum industry.
After handing over a number of instructive working documents of NOSDRA, including the Establishment Act, by the DG to the new Board Chairman, the feminization visit by the Chairman ended with him taking a tour around different sections of the agency’s headquarters where he interacted with some of the staff.
