“The survival of any organization depends to a large extent on the availability of skilled manpower at all times”.

These were the words of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Engr. Abubakar Yar’Adua at the opening ceremony of the Chief Officers Management Development Programme (COMDP) for classes 048, 049 and 050 in Abuja.

Stressing that manpower development is the bedrock on which the operations of the Corporation revolves, the GMD said that Management would “continue to breed an effective and innovative workforce capable of developing appropriate strategies to meet with the challenges of its business environment”

Prequel to this, Top Management of NNPC designed the COMDP in 1991 as a catalyst to sharpen the managerial, leadership, communication and decision -making skills of the officers which are critically required for the actualization of the Corporation’s vision, mission statement.

Reflecting on the challenges and strategic aspirations of the Corporation, especially now that NNPC is transforming into a true world class National Oil Company (NOC), Yar’Adua said, “there was urgent need for the Corporation to reform its operations, refocus and re-strategise in readiness for the challenges ahead”

On this note, Engr. Yar.Adua urged participants “to strive to always surpass current levels of performance, our focus should continuously be targeted at our set objective of becoming a world class company capable of facing global competition in the ever changing business world”

The GMD who was represented by the GED, CS, Alhaji Ibrahim Waziri, stated that the rejuvenation of the Warri Refinery two weeks ago testifies management’s continued commitment to ensure that all aspects of our operations are given prompt attention even as he broke the news that Kaduna Refinery would resume soon.