NCDMB begins training of PENGASSAN executives on leadership skills

Akpan Umoh, Uyo

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has commenced the training of Executives of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) Port Harcourt zone on leadership skills to improve their service delivery.

The Chief Executive Officer and Consultant, Facilitation and Training Services Ltd, Mr Olumide Ajomale, disclosed this to newsmen during the opening ceremony of the four-day retreat for the executives in Uyo on Tuesday.

Ajomale said the training of the executives was part of the Board’s Corporate Social Responsibility to the people of the Niger Delta region.

He said the training is meant to enrich and deepen the leadership skills of executives of PENGASSAN to meet the contemporary leadership situation.

According to him, skills in the past are no longer relevant to handling various challenging issues in the world, hence, a need to equip union leaders with modern skills to improve on their duties.

“We have the mandate of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to run this retreat.

“The Board has deemed it fit to provide the platform for the Zonal Executives of PENGASSAN to go through this programme.

“The programme is to enrich and deepen leadership skills, the world is moving at a very fast speed,  so, skills from the past are no longer relevant to handling various things that are going on in the world today.

“So, much uncertainty, complexity and everything has changed,  so learning is continuous. 

“So, when you have an opportunity provided like this, it is an opportunity for the officers to come together and learn about contemporary issues in leadership, how to improve on communication skills, to improve upon negotiation skills.

“We’re going to also delve into areas around employment laws, and industrial relations in the oil and gas industry.

So, it is a platform to provide enlightenment, deepen skills and to ensure that they leave here better than they came in,” Ajomale said.

Ajomale added that as union leaders, the executives should be better informed to make things more effective in the oil and gas industry.

He said that the training would afford the leadership of the union to be more skilful in negotiation and dialogue than involved in conflicts.

He said, “The retreat will also make the executives understand the dynamics of what it takes to deal with employers and also ensure they can get better returns for agitations as well.

“A lot of things today are about being skilful than conflict, you need to come to dialogue and be skilful on how you make your demand and manage resources that are available.”

In his remarks, Comrade Okeke Nnanna, PENGASSAN Secretary,  Port Harcourt Zone said the four-day retreat would sharpen the skills of the leadership to perform better.

He said that continuous training is necessary for leaders to sharpen their skills and improve their service delivery to the people.

The union secretary commended the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board for their contribution to equipping the leadership of the union with more professional skills.