From Ben Dunno, Warri
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has stressed the need for more private-sector-driven initiatives in accelerating the development of the Niger Delta region. He stated that it had become evident that the government alone cannot meet the area’s infrastructural deficits.
Kyari called on all stakeholders, especially major players in the oil and gas sector, to develop deliberate short, medium, and long-term developmental policies aimed at taking up projects that would enhance the immediate and future well-being of people within their operational environments.
He made the appeal in a goodwill message delivered on his behalf by Mohammed Adam, Manager Security Services, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), at the grand opening of the Ogbona Secondary School Ultra-Modern Auditorium. The auditorium was named in memory of the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the late Ibrahim Lamorde, in the Etsako Central Local Government Area, Edo State, at the weekend.
Kyari applauded the management of Inter-Atlas Synergy Limited, led by the companyâs Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Femi Meshe, for taking the bold step to embark on the project and enhance educational standards.
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In his speech at the occasion, the Minister of Niger Delta Development, Abubakar Momoh, noted that the government is doing a lot to ensure that host communities across the country benefit by ensuring that strategic projects trickle down to them.
Momoh, who was represented at the occasion by Dr Okodugha Dauda Aluyah, Special Assistant on Project Monitoring to the Minister, explained that there is a need for all hands to be on deck if we are truly committed and sincere in our collective quest to develop the region.
While describing the school auditorium and outdoor sports centre being commissioned as a key project for the educational growth of the school, the Minister praised Dunia, whom he described as a man with much passion and commitment to improving the well-being of the people.
In his address, the Edo State Deputy Governor, Comrade Omobayo Godwins, who represented Governor Godwin Obaseki at the event, appreciated the company’s efforts, especially those of Peter Dunia, the Executive Director of Inter-Atlas Synergy Limited, for making the project a reality at a time when the educational sector needs investment.
He conveyed the appreciation of both the government and that of former Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, to the company for its support in improving the educational standards of students in the school and urged other well-meaning indigenes, both at home and in the diaspora, as well as private business owners in the state, to emulate this kind gesture.
Also speaking at the event, the South/South Zonal Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dan Orbih, thanked the company for the kind gesture. He recounted that this was not the first time its Executive Director, Peter Dunia, had embarked on strategic developmental projects aimed at uplifting the standards of living of the people in the community.
He recalled how Dunia single-handedly tarred a long-distance road in the community almost two decades ago and embarked on other philanthropic activities, including giving scholarships to indigenes and dredging boreholes in some communities, describing him as a selfless individual who derived pleasure in putting smiles on the faces of people around him wherever he goes.
Responding, Peter Omoh Dunia Esqr, Executive Director, Inter-Atlas Synergy Limited and a member of the Ogbona Secondary School Management Board, also an illustrious son of Ogbona kingdom, disclosed how sad he was over a month ago when he received the news of DIG Ibrahim Lamordeâs demise, considering how close they were as business associates, but that having completed and named the ultra-modern school auditorium after him, he felt fulfilled.
In his tribute to the deceased, Dunia recalled his career in the police force, including when he held sway at the EFCC up until he retired as Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) to join business and become the Board Chairman of Inter-Atlas Synergy Limited, noting that he lived an exemplary life both in his service to the nation and in his private life, adding that his contributions to the development of society cannot be overemphasized.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Dr Suleiman Lamorde (son of the deceased) thanked the management of Inter-Atlas Synergy Limited for honouring their late father by naming the school auditorium after him, noting that they appreciated that a legacy in memory of their late father was first seen in Edo State.
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