DPR disowns Bashir Ahmad’s appointment letter

…Implements regulatory guidelines for radioactive materials.

Chinazor Megbolu |

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has denounced the letter of appointment allegedly issued to the media aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Bashir Ahmad.

Recall that on Monday, an online news platform, (not nigeriamaritime360) published a report that Ahmad was appointed as a Manager by the oil regulatory agency with the assistance of the presidency secretly.

According to Ahmad; “a friend sent me a link to a concocted story from an online news blog that the President has quietly appointed me as a Manager of the DPR, a department of Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

“For those who want to know the truth, the story is 100 per cent false. I am not a staff of the DPR”.

The DPR, on Tuesday, disowned the appointment letter, which indicated that Ahmad was appointed on January 19, 2021, and given three months to either accept or reject it.

In a statement signed and issued by the Head of Public Affairs, DPR, Mr. Paul Osu, the agency said the letter was fake.

“The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) attention has been drawn to a fake letter of appointment circulating on social media purportedly issued to one Bashir Ahmad.

“This is the handiwork of some mischief makers hiding behind the veil of social media to spread fake news and mislead the public.

“We hereby advise members of the public to disregard the purported letter in its entirety as it is not from DPR .

“We wish to reiterate that employment into the Department is carried out in accordance with extant rules guiding such exercises in the Nigerian Public Service in line with due process,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the oil and gas regulatory agency is set to begin the implementation of Regulatory Guidelines of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in the Petroleum sector.

The Director, DPR, Mr. Sarki Auwalu said this when he received the report on the training workshop on NORM organised for staff of the agency in collaboration with Quantised Solutions Limited.

The DPR chief executive also noted that the training workshop was designed to equip staff with the requisite skills needed to ensure full industry compliance with the regulatory guidelines for the management of NORM.

Auwalu, however, posited that the DPR will continue to implement robust strategic initiatives to make the exploration and production of oil safer and more environmentally friendly.

The Managing Director of Quantised Solutions Limited, Professor Shamsideen Elegba lauded the agency for taking the bold step, saying it will bring value to oil and gas assets