Yemisi Izuora
The Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) has adopted a four-year development plan that will grow investment in the sector by 80 percent.
The plan which was unveiled at the conclusion of a 2-day
intensive management retreat of the agency will help its operations within the period.
The roadmap revolves around
OGFZA’s vision to be the premier agency of government attracting
investments into Nigeria through the oil and gas free zones.
One of the key goals of the roadmap, according to the retreat resolution, is to achieve 80 per cent increase in investment inflow to
the country through the oil and gas free zones.
Guided by OGFZA’s mission statement to facilitate investment inflow for the optimal benefits of all stakeholders in the free zones, the retreat resolved that all work processes in OGFZA would be automated to optimise
performance, and equally agreed on a standard operating procedure to enhance job performance efficiency.
Anchored on the theme, “Enhancing service delivery in the Oil and Gas Free Zones in Nigeria,” the retreat also agreed on a six-point set of values that furnishes the right organisational culture for OGFZA.
The new culture orientation binds the management and staff of OGFZA to live by the creed of integrity, passion for their job, transparency and accountability, creativity, professionalism, and respect (for self, clients, time, etc).
In a speech to bring the retreat to a close, managing director of
OGFZA, Mr. Umana Okon Umana said, “With a roadmap drawn up and core values agreed to provide the right culture orientation to drive operations at OGFZA, we can now engage investors and operators in the
oil and gas free zones in a manner that facilitates the achievement of our mandate.”
Umana stressed that the new work ethics in the agency would emphasize performance, reward exceptional contribution and accept no excuses for
failure.
He described the retreat as “a very rewarding engagement” that has set the tone for OGFZA to move in the right direction, projecting that the impact of the brainstorming session would be seen and felt immediately.
“The rebranding is well underway and with it a new way of doing business and dealing with clients,” he said, adding that he was ready to drive the change in the investment agency.
Umana acknowledged the “excellent presentations by resource persons” at the retreat and said the era of excellence has dawned that would
impact work processes, training, manpower development and service delivery in all ramifications at OGFZA.
The management retreat was highly interactive and modeled to tap from the full range of talents, skills, and experience available at the management level of the agency.