Shell Nigeria Invests $5.6 Million In Education In One Year
By Abimbola Abdullahi
Determined to support a culture of educated masses in Nigeria, Shell Companies in Nigeria, have invested over $5.6 million in education programmes in the country in year 2022.
Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, in its latest fact sheet obtained by SlyeNews, said the investment was made by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG).
Okunbor said Shell companies in Nigeria have a long history of supporting education through scholarships and other initiatives.
He said: “Since the 1950s, the Shell scholarship schemes have supported several thousands of students, many of whom have gone on to become Nigeria’s business, political and social leaders.
According to the fact sheet, more than 3,000 secondary school grants, 3,500 university grants and 990 cradle-to-career scholarship grants have been awarded since 2016.
SNEPCo is said to have constructed, furnished and delivered a 100-seat ICT Centre, at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE), Delta state in 2022.
During the year, the company also continued the construction of two educational infrastructure projects valued at $15 million (including a $10 million Geosciences Centre of Excellence for the University of Lagos, and a $5 million e-library project for the Niger Delta University, Bayelsa state.
Okunbor said: “I am similarly proud of the incredible work that we do to support entrepreneurship and education. SPDC, SNEPCo and SNG funded more than $5.6 million in academic scholarships in 2022, investments that are critical to the country’s development.
“Many of these programmes’ previous beneficiaries have gone on to become today’s business and political leaders in Nigeria. In tandem, we continue to improve opportunities for young Nigerians to achieve their ambitions through the Shell LiveWIRE youth programme, providing training in enterprise development and management, as well as business start-up grants,” he said.
According to him, Shell companies in Nigeria directly employed more than 2,500 people (of whom 97% are Nigerian nationals) with 10,000 contractors supporting operations.
Besides the educational support, Okunbor said Shell also responded to the flooding across the country during the year, by committing $1 million to support the government’s efforts to provide relief.
Beyond that, he stated that Shell staff raised more than 10 million Nigerian Naira for people most in need.
