On April 12, 2019, when Ernest Ivie Omo-Ojo got a letter of suspension from Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (a subsidiary of ExxonMobil), it never crossed his mind that he would not be stepping into the imposing Mobil House on Lekki Expressway, Victoria Island, Lagos as a staff. While arbitration by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) was ongoing between the employer and employee, Omo-Ojo received a letter terminating his employment on June 24, 2019.
Termination of employment in the Nigerian oil sector is regulated. Going by the provisions of the Guidelines for the Release of Staff in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry, 2019, an employer that wishes to terminate the contract of an employee is required to obtain the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources. The application for the minister’s approval is made in writing to the Director of Petroleum Resources of the DPR. The letter should indicate the manner of release, the reasons for the proposed release, the compensation due to the employee, and any proposed replacement of the employee.
According to the guidelines, the DPR shall conduct an inquiry into the circumstances of the proposed staff release and decide on whether to convey the minister’s approval or otherwise.
Besides obtaining the approval of the minister, employers in the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector are also required to notify the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board of any proposed termination.
MPNU did none of these.
Employers are required to terminate a contract of employment at any time and without stating the reason or cause for doing so provided that the appropriate notice of termination is given to the employee or the employee is paid a salary in place of such notice. However, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) indicated that best practices under international standards must be followed which mandates an employer to state the reason(s) for terminating an employee’s contract. Again, MPNU is culpable.
This is a case of wrongful termination because MPNU did not follow the procedure laid out in the contract of employment and as such, it is a wilful and flagrant abuse of DPR regulations by MPNU.
Background and chronology of events
Ernest Ivie Omo-Ojo joined Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) – a subsidiary of ExxonMobil – on February 14, 2001. He has had an outstanding career earning numerous awards in the course of his service which includes ExxonMobil Chairman/Managing Director Outstanding Leadership Awards for 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. His last award came in 2018 where he was a recipient of the ExxonMobil Vice President Global Public & Government Affairs for Innovation. Before joining MPNU, he was the Best Graduating Student of the Department of Mass Communication, Federal Polytechnic Auchi, Edo state in 1993.
After receiving a suspension letter from MPNU on April 12, 2019, Omo-Ojo submitted a petition to the DPR on April 16, 2019. Subsequently, he had follow-up meetings with the Assistant Director, Nigerian Content-DPR, thereafter he was informed a formal letter would be dispatched to ExxonMobil referencing his petition.
In May 2019, he was invited to the office of the Assistant Director, Nigerian Content, where he was told that the DPR had written to ExxonMobil intimating the company of his petition and that ExxonMobil provided feedback stating that his “suspension was with pay and that there was an ongoing investigation, and that when findings were concluded, DPR would be duly informed before any further action”. Omo-Ojo was consequently told by the Assistant Director that he should be patient and await a call from them. He was given the assurance that everything was under control and that no further action can be taken by MPNU as the matter was a pending petition before DPR.
What rather followed was the termination of his employment on June 24, 2019, without recourse to the DPR with any findings or why the action was taken. This is a violation of due process and lack of respect for orderliness, as the law setting up the DPR plainly states that permission/clearance must be sought from the regulator before any Nigerian is laid off from his job. This case was even pivotal, as Omo-Ojo had a pending petition challenging his suspension at the first instance.
When he handed over the termination letter to the DPR, the Assistant Director, Nigerian Content, was shocked and surprised at the action of ExxonMobil and counselled that he exercises patience so that the issue to be resolved amicably.
On October 15, 2019, the DPR invited ExxonMobil to provide explanations for its actions and explain the circumstances of the steps taken over the termination of Omo-Ojo’s employment without any recourse to the DPR. As part of the resolution of the October 15, 2019 meeting with the management of ExxonMobil, DPR insisted on his recall, unless the company can demonstrate that due process was followed under the DPR guidelines. The DPR then issued ExxonMobil a 14-day deadline to comply with the laid down guidelines.
On December 2, 2019, Omo-Ojo was invited to the DPR for another meeting with the Assistant Director, Nigerian Content. At that meeting, the Assistant Director expressed frustrations over the uncooperative and recalcitrant attitude of ExxonMobil and the violation of the 14-day ultimatum issued to the company at the October 15, 2019 meeting.
Consequently, on December 5, 2019, the DPR wrote to ExxonMobil “that having carefully scrutinised your submissions, vis- a- vis the resolution of the meeting held October 15, 2019, the Department hereby states that MPNU has violated Section 8 of Regulation 15A of the Petroleum {Drilling and Production} {amendment} Regulation 2019 made under the Petroleum Act of 1969 with the exit of Mr Ernest Omo-Ojo”.
A clear case of a breach was established against ExxonMobil.
In the December 5, 2019 letter ExxonMobil was given a 7-day ultimatum to comply with the directives. Instead, ExxonMobil reneged and did not meet the deadline rather employing all manners of delay tactics and taking advantage of the leadership changes in the DPR not to abide by the directives.
Following ExxonMobil’s deliberate action not to comply with the DPR’s December 5, 2019 resolution, Omo-Ojo was invited to a tripartite meeting with the DPR and the management of ExxonMobil convened on January 14, 2020. However, what was meant to be a tripartite meeting as stated in the letter of invitation issued to Omo-Ojo, such a meeting did not hold rather it was broken into different sessions. Thereafter, Alhaji A.R. Shakur, the Acting Director of DPR, who was the head of the meeting requested that Omo-Ojo should exercise patience for another two weeks which he was told was at the request and plea of ExxonMobil to enable it to work on compliance as resolved by the regulator.
Surprisingly, what followed after the two-week’s extension requested by ExxonMobil elapsed, was a letter Omo-Ojo received from the DPR dated March 2, 2020, signed by one Mrs Chinwe Egemba, Assistant Director, Nigerian Content, requesting him to liaise with the management of MPNU for further necessary action as the case was considered closed. The letter did not refer to the December 5, 2019 letter issued to ExxonMobil and for which they requested a two-week extension after the tripartite meeting to enable them to comply with the DPR’s directives.
After receiving the letter, Omo-Ojo placed a call to the new substantive director of the DPR, Engr. Sarki Auwalu. However, the director informed him that he was new at the job and had no details on the matter. Rather, he told him to write a petition to his office.
On March 16, 2020, Omo-Ojo lodged a follow-up petition as advised by the Director giving details of events in the last 15 months. Over the last three months, Omo-Ojo has had both verbal and written correspondences with the office of the Director, but all he was told was to exercise patience as the matter was still being reviewed.
On July 2, 2020, he lodged a formal appeal to the office of the Honourable Minister of State – Petroleum Resources, in assisting with closure on the matter.
On July 16, 2020, Omo-Ojo received a second letter from the DPR, this time echoing the same frustration of the March 2, 2020 letter. In the said letter, he was advised to go to court to seek legal redress.
The Human Resources Policy of MPNU gives credence to the guidelines of DPR under what it calls “Company Initiated Separation (CIS)”. It states that for any CIS to be undertaken, the company must work in consultation with the Industry Regulator (DPR) in arriving at its decision.
But did ExxonMobil follow the DPR amended guidelines/procedures on staff release (Regulation 60 B) in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector dated November 13, 2019? The answer is a resounding ‘NO”!
“My petition dated April 16, 2019, was when I was initially suspended, a termination letter was issued to me while my case was undergoing hearing at DPR,” Omo-Ojo said.
“Can a due process be said to have been followed when a termination letter was issued to me even when my petition was still under consideration at DPR? My prayers were very clear to the DPR. Though the employer reserves the right to discharge an employee, due process must be followed. The law is very clear on this from both the position of the regulator and that of ExxonMobil. This is a situation of violation of due process on staff release and the provisions/guidelines are clear on how this should be administered.
“Justice can only be seen to have been done in this matter, if there is a withdrawal of the ExxonMobil termination letter issued to me on June 24, 2019, when my petition was already undergoing hearing by the DPR. By the December 5, 2019 letter issued by the DPR to ExxonMobil, I remain an employee of ExxonMobil until this matter is dispensed with by the DPR.”
Efforts to reach the MPNU for its side of the story proved abortive.

Shows the sloppiness of corporate laws and their enforcement in Nigeria. The DPR who should be at fore in the resolution and protection of staffs in the industry are compromised due to the quest for illicit gains by their executives. Such a shame.

I hope you take this across all social media platforms for necessary attention to be given.

This is a clear case of the DPR failing in their duties most likely out of corruption and ineptitude. Why have a regulatory agency if they cannot enforce any of their rules?

So, DPR terminated his appointment without the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources?
Then, he should intervene.