PORT HARCOURT: A group, Centre for Sustainable Growth and Good Governance, has expressed strong worries with developments in the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, saying the indiscriminate sack of principal staff of the organisation in the last one year, could impact negatively on the projects of PTDF.

Co-ordinator of the group, Comrade Fred Chima in a statement yesterday, said the circumstances under which four General Managers in the PTDF were sacked recently was disturbing, stressing that the action gave the picture of what they termed a clash in the system. Continuing, the body recalled that the former Executive Secretary of PTDF, Dr Oluwale Oluleye, spent barely 13 months in office before he was sacked and replaced by Mr Femi Ajayi.

Mr Chima wondered if the new Executive Secretary who was appointed about four months ago would be given a free hand to work. “ With the way things are going, we are wondering if the new Executive Secretary will have a free hand to work. He just came and suddenly four General Managers and other officers of the PTDF were sacked under very questionable circumstance”, he said.

It would be recalled that the Head, Press and External Relations, PTDF, Mr Kalu Otisi had in a statement released last month announced the sack of four General Managers and an officer of the fund, Tinu Oluleye. No reason was adduced for the action in the statement

The statement in part stated, “The appointments of four general managers in the Petroleum Technology Development Fund have been terminated following a directive issued by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. The affected General Managers are Jacqueline Guyil, General Manager, Strategic Planning and Documentation; Olajide Adebulehin, General Manager, Projects; Ahmed Z. Balarabe, General Manager, Administration and Human Resources; and Ahmed Aminu, General Manager, Education and Training Department.

The affected officers have been directed to hand over all properties of the Fund to the next most senior staff and to report to the finance and accounts department of PTDF for their entitlements”.

Continuing the group expressed fears that some of the programs of PTDF are being threatened by the incessant sack including the overseas scholarship scheme for post graduate students, facility upgrading, welder training and certification program, ICT projects, institutions infrastructural developments and so on. “We are disturbed as an institution about the fate of these programs with the incessant changes in the PTDF. There should be some level of consistency for development to thrive”, he said.

According to the group, ten top officers of the fund had earlier been sacked in 2013 over issues relating to alleged outcome of a verification exercise conducted by the Ministry of Petroleum. Some of those affected in a memo titled, “ Disengagement of Staff” and signed by B.Z. Ahmad, were three General Mangers, a Manager, a Deputy Manager and six other top officials.