Patience Morgan: NNPC’s Tea Lady Who Rose To Become A Towering Inspiration

When Patience Morgan joined the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) as a 20-year-old tea lady in the late 1990s, she could not have imagined that her story would one day inspire thousands beyond the Towers where she worked.

In a feature shared on the company’s official X handle, Patience recounted her journey from the very early days of the NNPC Towers—when there were no desks or chairs, and she and her colleagues stood all day—to becoming one of the most beloved figures in the organization.

“I was the first tea lady here and over the years I trained hundreds more,” she said with a smile. She also recalled being terrified of the lifts, which she had never seen before. “Sometimes, I would just ride them up and down for fun,” she added, laughing at the memory.

Her career, much like those lifts, has been full of ups and downs, though she insists there have been more highs than lows. By 2005, she had been elevated to serve on the 11th executive floor, where she has remained for nearly two decades, serving 15 successive Group Chief Executive Officers.

Now 48, Patience is grateful for what she calls the grace of God and the kindness of NNPC staff who believed in her. “I came here as a young, single girl. I got married here to a pastor. This job and God’s grace helped me train all five of my children,” she said, teary-eyed.

Three of her children are university graduates, while the younger two are still in secondary school. “My children are brilliant and by God’s grace, one of them will work for NNPC one day,” she said.

On her birthday this week, dressed in a lovely outfit with a cake to share, Patience received an unexpected gift: a photo session with NNPC’s GCEO, Bayo Bashir Ojulari, who insisted on meeting her after learning it was her special day.

From pouring tea to pouring inspiration into lives, Patience Morgan’s story is a reminder that dignity, grace, and perseverance can elevate even the humblest beginnings into towering legacies.