By Pius Dukor
The deputy managing director, Joint Venture Asset, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Guillaume Dulout, says the company will do everything humanly possible to support the educational advancement of Nigerian schools.
Dulout made the remark at the 2023 Book Reading and Open day event for Senior Secondary Schools in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with the theme: ‘A Chapter a Day Keeps the Brain Alert,’ organized by Total Energies Nig. Ltd.
He said reading a chapter of book everyday by the students will help keep the brain alert and make the reader acquire life-improvement skills, noting that it adds to one’s vocabulary, and exposes the reader to new information, idea and knowledge.
The deputy managing director explained that the event was to promote reading among students, make reading a way of life, and also serve as opportunity to share career trajectory and how the students can connect their career in future.
He said that the company also partners with other stakeholders to invest in education as one of their primary objectives. “We also have program that empower teachers and help them increase their teaching capacity and efficiency to impact more knowledge on the students,” he said.
Represented at the event by Engr. Obi Imember, executive director, the TotalEnergies boss stressed that they chose the book, ‘Second Class Citizen,’ by Buchi Emechita, to encourage students to be resilient and hard working, despite the social media distraction, which makes reading challenging.
He mentioned some of the company’s initiatives in education to include, Institute of Petroleum and Energy Studies, MIT-Empowering the teacher, African University of Science and Technology and sponsorship of Professional Associations as support to boost education.
In his remark, commissioner of Education, Rivers State, Prof. Chinedu Nmon, represented at the event by Onumbu Emmanuel, director, Quality Assurance Department, Minister of Education tasked students to be good ambassadors of their family, community and country. “Don’t fail to read, don’t be influenced by bad friends,” he said.
Earlier, Dr. Charles Ebereonwu, deputy general manager, External Communication TotalEnergies, stated that the company takes everything about education seriously, addsing that most of them in position of trust today did not have good opportunity in education but still strived to succeed.
In his presentation, Mr. Victor Inwumune, field manager, explained the roles of TotalEnergies, which include Upstream and Downstream operations, and Joint Venture with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He said under their corporate social responsibility (CSR), they supported government during COVID-19 and flooding in Rivers State.
Highlight of the event was the personal story-telling by role models, Mrs. Chiyere Onwujei and Adimoekumo Odiachi, and reading by the nine participating schools in Port Harcourt.
It can be recalled that by 2050, the oil companies in Nigeria will do zero emissions during oil production.
