BUSINESS DAY
Friday 22 March 2019
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CITYFile Navy arrests 12 suspects over illegal bunkering
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L-R: Oba of Lagos, HRM, Oba Rilwan Akiolu; Group Executive Director, Capital Projects, D.V.G. Edwin, and Chief Operating Officer, Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals, Surace Giuseppe, at the Vocational Training Scheme flag off ceremony organised by Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals for youths across host communities in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos on Wednesday.
Excitement in Ibeju-Lekki as Dangote Refinery, NDE train youths on vocational skills JOSHUA BASSEY
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he ancient town of Ibeju-Lekki came alive on Wednesday, March 20, as the Dangote Group, collaborating with a team of trainers from the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the academia, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), stormed the sleepy town. It was a day to flag off a six-month impactful and life-changing vocational and skill acquisition training programme, aimed at empowering youth and positioning them to take advantage of the emerging opportunities ahead of the planned commencement of operations of what would be one of the largest refineries around the world. The venue was Ibeju town hall, situated a few kilometres from the popular Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) in Lagos. The hall was filed to capacity, as the youths drawn from Ibeju, Lekki, Eleko, Akodo, Epe and other contiguous communities of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals Plant, came in their numbers. They were joined by eminent personalities from the public and sectors of the economy, including first class traditional rulers in Lagos, among them; the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, Oloja of Epe Land, Kamorudeen Animashaun among others from Lekki. Also present were array of local chiefs (Baales) who, together with the Lagos State government and the first class monarchs, have worked over the years to douse the initial tensions in the area, paving the way for the now harmonious relationship between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals and the host communities. According to Devakumar Edwin, Group Executive Director (GED), Dangote Group, the vocational training scheme, covering plumbing, masonry, welding, iron bending, auto mechanics and electrical works, which is a way of sustaining the convivial relationship into the future by way of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), would inculcate requisite skills in the young men and women and make them marketable.
The initiative, Edwin added, is a demonstration of Dangote refinery’s commitment towards capacity building and youth empowerment. He explained that the scheme is geared towards instant value addition to the lives of the youths and their communities, stressing that the company will continue to invest in projects that add value to the lives of the people in communities hosting its facilities across the country. “At Dangote Industries Limited, our corporate social responsibility projects are centred around the development and wellbeing of the people, especially our host communities. In Ibeju-Lekki, we have executed several projects that are already enhancing the lives of the people. We have provided boreholes for all the communities, classrooms for the local school, and we just awarded scholarships to 51 secondary school students. “This programme is another level of our intervention as it is targeted at providing vocational skills to the teeming youth population in our host communities. The youths are veritable assets in any society and the quality of the youths determines the outlook of tomorrow’s society. Therefore, an investment in developing vocational skills among youths will yield the desired results,” said Edwin. Also speaking, Giuseppe Sur-ace, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Dangote Refinery, said the free training programme provided a lifetime opportunity for the youths to better secure their future. According to him, those of them who will turn out exceptional at the end of the training could stand a chance of working with the company in areas where they show competence. On his part, Frank Ibi, manager, Projects Certification and Authorisation Division (PCAD), NCDMB, who represented Simbi Wabote, the board’s executive secretary, lauded Dangote refinery for the initiative. He explained that NCDMB was a part of the scheme because it is geared towards promoting domiciliation of value-adding activities and utilisation of Nigerian human and material resources. The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu described the training as unprecedented, particularly because the company though yet to start op-
eration, is already empowering the youths from the area to make them employable. The monarch, who encouraged the youths to utilise the skills they will acquire through the training programme, commended the Dangote Group for “unwavering support to community development in Lagos.” Oba of Epe Land, Animashaun on his part, commended Aliko Dangote, chairman of the Dangote Group for bringing development to the EPe-Ibeju-Lekki communities through his investment in refinery and petrochemicals and urged other Nigerians to emulate Dangote by investing locally to lift the economy and the people at the grassroots. Ogidan Olaitan, chairman, Lekki Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and the chief host, said the inauguration of the skills acquisition programme was a fulfillment of Dangote’s promise to the host communities and the beginning of better things to come. Lasis Adeyemi, one of the benefitting youths, said he was excited at the opportunity to learn a skill. He believed upon certification by the NDE, he would stand a better chance of either working in any company or establishing his own business.
he Nigerian Navy has arrested 12 crew members of a ship for alleged illegal bunkering of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) otherwise known as diesel and also seized a ship used for the illegal deal. The commanding officer, Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Ibaka, Mbo local government area, Akwa Ibom, Navy Captain Reginald Adoki, made this known while handing over the suspects to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at Ibaka. He said that the suspects were arrested along Mbo River, coming from Cameroon, adding that the suspects were arrested at 8.40 p.m, based on intelligence report. “This vessel, NV Sword Fish 5, along with 12 crew members were arrested by the Nigerian Navy, Ibaka, when our gun boat was carrying out a patrol along the Calabar River. “The vessel was arrested while it was conducting illegal bunkering of substance suspected to be automotive gas oil (diesel) to another platform without due authorisation,” he said. Adoki said that other six suspects were also arrested in connection with smuggling of 523 bags of 50 kilogrammes of contraband rice. He said that the petroleum product was smuggled from the Republic of Cameroon, with three 40-horsepower outboard engines, one pumping machine, a wooden boat and 52 empty plastic drums.
Fire kills pregnant woman, two children in Anambra EMMANUEL NDUKUBA, Awka fire incident at Umuoffor village Okija in Ihiala local government area of Anambra State on Tuesday claimed the lives of a pregnant woman and her two children. The deceased husband, Maxwell Okeke was however lucky not to be in the house when the incident occurred. The police public relations officer of the state command, Mohammed Haruna, in a statement confirmed the incident to newsmen in Awka on Wednesday He said the pregnant woman, Nwazuru Okeke and two children, Chidi Ebube Okeke aged two years and Makuo Chukwu Okeke one year, were trapped in the inferno and burnt beyond recognition at about 7:30 pm. “At about 7:30pm, on evening, there was a fire incident at Umuoffor village Okija at the residence of one Maxwell Okeke. As a result his pregnant wife, Nwazuru Okeke ‘and two children, Chidi Ebube Okeke aged two years and Makuo Chukwu Okeke one year were trapped in the inferno and burnt beyond recognition,” Haruna said. According to him, police detectives attached to Okija Division visited the scene and the fire was eventually put off with the assistance of local volunteers in the area.
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Flooding: Anambra begins vaccination against diseases EMMANUEL NDUKUBA, Awka
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nambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ASPHCDA) in partnership with National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has commenced a multi- antigen vaccination campaign and outreach services in the state. The campaign, which was flagged off at Iyiowa Odekpe, Ogbaru local area of the state is aimed at preventing possible outbreak of diseases in the area. Executive secretary, ASPHCDA, Chioma Ezenyimulu said the vaccination would be of essence to inhabitants of the
area because of the recent flood disaster in the area. According to her, flood disaster comes with many communicable diseases such as polio, measles, yellow fever, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. She explained that the exercise was part of the constituency projects of the House of Representative member for Ogbaru federal constituency, Chuchu Onyema. “He wrote the proposal, while NPHCDA/ASPHCDA implemented it,’’ she said, adding that drugs would be administered to the people of appropriate age within the locality. He urged the people to take advantage of the vaccination programme.