By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Calabar
Mr Castro Ezama, former Special Adviser to ex-Cross River Governor Ben Ayade on Special Education, has called for an independent review of the 2026 promotion exercise of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), alleging that no Cross River indigene was among the 106 staff promoted.
Ezama, who is Director General of the National Patriotic Front for Tinubu (NPFFT), made the call at a world press conference in Calabar.
He said the promotions covered four management levels: Manager to Senior Manager, Senior Manager to Assistant Director, Assistant Director to Deputy Director and Deputy Director to Director.
According to him, Cross River indigenes were represented across the affected cadres but none was promoted, while other South-South states reportedly had at least three successful staff each.
Ezama said the reported outcome required clarification from NUPRC, particularly on whether the same eligibility requirements and assessment procedures were applied to all candidates.
He stressed that NPFFT was not demanding promotion for anyone based on state of origin, saying competence, performance, experience and other approved criteria should remain the basis for promotion.
He, however, said the reported exclusion of Cross River indigenes across the four management levels raised questions about equal opportunity and compliance with applicable federal character provisions.
Ezama urged NUPRC to release a state-by-state and cadre-by-cadre breakdown of eligible, assessed and successful candidates, as well as details of the criteria, scoring, interview and moderation processes used in the exercise.
He also called on the Federal Character Commission to examine the distribution of the promotions and determine whether relevant federal character requirements and guidelines were followed.
Ezama further urged the relevant Senate committees overseeing upstream petroleum and gas to obtain the promotion records and examine the allegation as part of their oversight responsibilities.
He said NUPRC should correct any errors or procedural failures established by a review and provide affected officers with access to their results and appropriate appeal mechanisms.
