By Abba Auwalu Issa
Inuwa Waya, the Group General Manager in charge of Shipping at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has declared his intention to leave the organization in December.
Although the NNPC has yet to confirm the retirement of top management staff, numerous sources at the NNPC Towers in Abuja revealed on Friday that Mr. Waya has already submitted his letter to embark on voluntary retirement from the Corporation’s services.
Read also: Two Gubernatorial candidates, 150,000 others joins APC in Kano
Mr. Waya has already begun his statutory three-month pre-retirement vacation, which began on September 10, according to one of the individuals who asked that his name not be revealed because he was not qualified to comment on the subject.
According to the source, Mr. Waya personally delivered the news of his plan to voluntarily leave the national oil firm at a surprise birthday celebration hosted in his honor by the corporation’s Shipping Division on Friday, September 10.
Read also: Kano Govt. to convert unapproved lands, structures to mega schools
During a commemorative speech at the party, Mr. Waya told the staff that after more than 30 years of service to the Corporation, it was time for him to step down and allow the younger generation to take over.
“I have worked and dutifully served the NNPC in various capacities for over 30 years. Over the course of the term, I believe I did my best to contribute my small part to assist the business in achieving its corporate goals and objectives.
Read also: Kano State Government Developing a Transport Policy
However, I believe that each man and woman has his or her own time and season for each of their hobbies.
“There is a time to work, a time to play, and a time to stop working and take a well-deserved break to pursue other goals.
“I believe the moment has come for me to quit doing public work, to give way to my season of rest, and to find the time to focus on my private practice as a licensed lawyer. Mr. Waya is said to have told the workers at the birthday party, “That is what I have done.”
Mr. Waya’s surprising declaration was claimed to have surprised most of the workers, given that he still has two years left in his NNPC career before reaching the statutory formal retirement age of 60 years.
Read also: APC: Group Support Sardauna As APC Youth Leader In Yobe
However, according to the source, Mr. Waya explained to the concerned employees that it was his conviction to leave the stage not only when the ovation was the loudest, but also to give the younger generation following him the opportunity to take over and continue where he left off, contributing their quota to the company’s continued development.
Mr. Waya explained that the notice of his voluntary retirement had already been submitted to the NNPC on September 10 in order to fulfill the three-month pre-retirement notification requirement, which was set to expire on December 11, in order for his final disengagement from the Service to take effect.
Since word of Mr. Waya’s resignation letter reached the rest of the NNPC workforce, there have been rumors about his plans for the near future, according to the source.
Read also: Abuja – Kaduna – Kano Highway Ready By 2023
Although Mr. Waya was said to have confided in some of his immediate staff during the birthday party that he was considering going into farming and private law practice, unconfirmed sources close to the Kano State-born lawyer hinted that he could be eyeing the gubernatorial race in the coming 2023 elections.