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By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
As part of its corporate social responsibilities to its communities, the Aiteo Group, indigenous oil and gas company operating in Bayelsa State, has donated the sum of five hundred million Naira to boost the state’s Education Trust Fund.
Speaking at the fund’s launch in Yenagoa, Mr Benedict Peters, executive vice chairman of Aiteo Group, who was represented by Mr Victor Okoronkwo, commended the governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson and indigenes on the launch of the trust fund.
According
to him, Aiteo is pleased to associate with the fund’s lofty vision of becoming
a world class educational intervention agency driven by stakeholder
participation and contribution for sustainable and enhanced standard of
education, and employing best practice.
He said, “We have followed the progress of the Bayelsa Education Trust
Fund from inception and celebrate the Professor Turner Isoun-led board who
raised N800 million Naira in their first 10 months of operation to empower
indigent children with access to free and qualitative education. This is a
clear indication of your commitment to the tasks ahead.
“Indeed, the Aiteo Group’s sustainability investments are hinged on education
as a tool to eliminate the cycle of poverty, while empowering our youths to
learn and grow into future leaders in their communities throughout Africa.
“Education is fundamental to unlocking the world, it is a passport to self-fulfillment and purpose. In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
He further stressed that education is one of the fundamental factors of development, adding that no country can achieve sustainable economic development without substantial investment in human capital.
“Education enriches people’s understanding of themselves and the world as a whole. It improves the quality of their lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society; and further raises people’s productivity and creativity thereby promoting entrepreneurship and technological advancement.
“I thank His Excellency for trusting me with the responsibility of setting the pace for today’s legacy investment in the dreams of millions of Bayelsans, who will transform our nation going forward. The Bayelsa State government deserves credit for its relentless commitment to providing a conducive, safe and secure enabling environment for our business to thrive.
“It is our hope that this fund will bring more economic inclusion to our current and future partners in providing more communities access to quality education. I urge you, as stewards of time and social capital intermediaries, to facilitate the growth of Bayelsa’s economy by designing sustainable systems which integrate what is achieved across your educational institutions with your real sector, especially small and medium scale enterprises as these are the fastest vehicles for job creation and stimulating your economy,” he said.
He stated that “this is not a distant donation but the first of a series of investments which derive from our organizational ethos of sustainable development, partnering our communities, engaging superior human capital and putting the right technology to innovative use in our beneficiation of energy resources.”
He said that with the launching of the Bayelsa State Education Trust Fund, it is the company’s hope that its management will bring into the human capital sector, innovation that will differentiate quality of leaders graduating from Bayelsa institutions and joining ‘global’ corporate ranks.