Trailblazer Lady Serving Tea, To Serving GCEOs In NNPC Towers

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, a state-owned oil and gas company responsible for Nigeria’s petroleum reserves narrates the story of Patience Morgan who started working at NNPC as a bright eyed 20-year-old tea lady in the late 1990s.

Patience exemplified tenacity, hard work, the doggedness of a true Nigerian ambassador. She started working here even before the Towers were built and says she was amongst the first to inhabit the building.

“There were no desks, chairs or furniture and we would stand all day…but I liked the work,” she recalls.

She was also the first tea lady and had trained hundreds more over the decades.

Patience remembers a lot of things about the early days when she was petrified of the lifts because she’d never seen or been in a lift before. She bursts into laughter as she recounts her escapades how she’d ride them for fun in her free time.

The story of her journey here, much like her early lift rides were full of highs and lows—but more highs, she says by the grace of God and the great people of NNPC who believed in her and kept elevating her.

In 2005 she was elevated to serve on the executive 11th floor, where she has been ever since, having now worked for 15 GCEOs.

Patience gets teary-eyed and suddenly breaks into prayers mid conversation as she says that God used NNPC to change her life story.

“I came here as a young, single girl. I got married here to a pastor….This job and the grace of God helped me train all my five children,” she said.

Her first three are university graduates and her youngest two children are in secondary school. She learned the values of patience, hard work and determination by observing NNPC staff whom she served over the years. She’s watched many careers grow and inspired her to instill the value of education in her children.

“My children are brilliant and by God’s grace, one of them will work for NNPC,” she said, flashing her electric smile.

Asked what makes her happiest about the job these days, she responded, “The people. The kind, hardworking people.”

As the conversation draws to a close, she asks for a favour.

She wanted to send a thank you message to the GCEO— Bayo Bashir Ojulari. So, the video rolled.

Patience Morgan turned 48 today. She wore a lovely outfit and brought a cake to share with friends. What she didn’t know was that providence would get her a meeting with the GCEO who heard it was her birthday and insisted on a photo.

Happy birthday, Patience Morgan— here’s to many more years in good health!

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