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From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
TotalEnergies in partnership with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has graduated 15 fashion designers from Gazelle Academy, under its Totalpreneur Support programme and equiped them with sewing mschines in Rivers State.
Delivering the machines to the graduands, the Managing Director, TotalEnergies, Upstream Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mike Sangster, said that, the company was committed to environmental, social and economic sustainability of the Niger Delta region and people.
Sangster, who spoke through the Manager, Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), Mrs. Moyosola Areola, of TotalEnergies, stated that, it has various corporate social responsibilities initiatives in the country, one of them being focus on youth development, through education and empowerment.
He said: “Helping young people to learn, grow and become financially independent is an economic and social necessity, that help to secure the future. The global and local economic challenges, over the years, make this effort even more imperative.”
In his speech, the group Managing Director MD, NNPC Upstream, Investment Management Services, Bala M. Wunti, also maintained that the company’s social business was geared towards economic empowerment of the communities and country in general.
“We are sensitive to the needs of people, and our goal is to ensure that Nigerians benefit from our CRS interventions, based on verifiable and critically assessed needs of the various identified beneficiary states, across the country.”
Wunti pointed out that, the Petroleum Industry Acts’s provisions, ensure that the communities receive direct social and economic benefits from energy operators.”
He noted that in the corporation, their vision for social intervention, was to continue to operate in an ethical and sustainable manner, and deal with environmental and social impacts, occasioned by their activities.
The NNPC boss disclosed that, with their partners they had so far implemented various projects in the areas of education – ( building and equipping of schools, classroom, laboratories, donation of books, scholarships, quiz competitions,) skill acquisitions and economic empowerment.
Rivers State government, represented by Director, Education and Counselling, Ministry of Youth Development, and Director, Employment, Ministry of Employment Generation & Empowerment Samuel Miebaka and Napoleon Akpe respectively, commended organizers and sponsors of the programme.
They also made case for monitoring and evaluation of the performances of the graduands, whom they said, had been empowered to empower others.
Also, they regretted a situation some trainees on completion of the programme, sell their equipment, rather than using them for the purpose they were given.
Project Manager, Gazelle, Taiwo Dada, commended the partners, Total, NNPC for the collaboration, saying that the project was useful to all those that had gone through the training.
He encouraged that participants to add value to the experiences they had garnered from the three months intensive mentoring programme.
