SEPLAT boosts access to quality education in Delta
By Abimbola Abdullahi
Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, the operator of the NPDC/SEPLAT Joint Venture assets, OMLs 4, 38 & 41, in partnership with the Sapele Okpe Community in Delta State, has expanded access to equal and qualitative higher education with the commissioning of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Sapele Teaching Centre, in Delta State.
The project and the accreditation of the centre which cost over One Hundred and Twenty-six Million Naira (N126m) was funded from NPDC/SEPLAT JV fund allocation to the Sapele Okpe Community under its General Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) to Host Oil and Gas Producing Communities by SEPLAT. SEPLAT’s civil engineers’ team supervised the project and ensured timely project delivery and value for money.
Commenting on the feat, Chief Executive Officer, SEPLAT, Roger Brown, commended and congratulated the community for cooperating with the company in the selection and execution of the project, adding that education is key to economic, political and social dynamics of the society.
He remarked that the Teaching Centre will make education available and close to the citizenry both in the rural or urban areas of Sapele, Ethiope West and Okpe Local Government Areas and the environs including providing many women who would not have had the opportunity to attend University outside their area of resident because of the need to take care of their family and in certain cases, support them financially by pursuing daily economic activities.
He explained that access to quality open and distance education in Sapele will boost the local economy and significantly reduce the cost of access to quality education and therefore, many parents who would ordinarily have been discouraged to send their children school because of big financial burden will be encouraged to do so in addition to mitigating against hazards associated with long road travels.
