
Tanya Davidson
Port Harcourt — The Chief Executive Officer of KTS Oil & Gas Services Limited, Dr. Tom Otuaga, has linked his elevation to the Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, CIPM, to the growing importance of professional people management in Nigeria’s oilfield services industry.
Otuaga, who received the fellowship at the 58th CIPM International Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, said the recognition reinforces the human-capital credentials behind KTS’s business of deploying and managing technical manpower for oil and gas operations.
“It tells the world that KTS is led by someone who understands and upholds the principles of good people management,” Otuaga said.
The fellowship was conferred on Otuaga alongside other distinguished professionals at the CIPM conference, themed “Repositioning for Value and Impact.”
For the KTS chief executive, however, the recognition goes beyond a personal professional milestone, given the company’s dependence on skilled personnel to support upstream oil and gas assets.
KTS provides manpower services for onshore and offshore operations, including sourcing and managing Nigerian and expatriate personnel, industrial relations compliance, maritime logistics support, operational crisis management, technical oversight and community relations.
Otuaga said the fellowship was therefore significant to him as both an HR professional and an oilfield services executive.
“Becoming a Fellow of the CIPM is a well-deserved recognition for breathing, eating and living people management,” he said.
“It is a mark of credibility for me as an HR practitioner that I have done the very right things for the practice over the years.”
He described the fellowship as both recognition for his past efforts and a responsibility to deepen his commitment to professional leadership and people-centred management.
“The CIPM is the only accredited body charged with the responsibility of regulating HR practice in Nigeria; it is the dream of every HR practitioner to become a Fellow of the Institute someday,” he said.
“It takes years of hard work, dedication and unflinching commitment to the profession.”
Otuaga brings a human-resources background to an oilfield services business, having previously served as Chief Human Resources Officer at Century Group and Managing Director of CCM Vessels Management.
At KTS, he oversees a business focused on providing operational support and technical manpower to upstream oil and gas operators, including FPSO and other oil and gas assets.
The company also provides labour union interface, community relations, administration and technical oversight aimed at supporting leaner operations for upstream infrastructure.
Otuaga said the CIPM recognition would further strengthen his commitment to effective leadership, professionalism and people management within the workplace.


