OAU, UNN Get Esso Geological Support

User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, has donated buses and geological equipment to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (OAU) and University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) under the University Partnership Programmme (UPP).

The UPP is aimed at funding geological field work programmes in selected Nigerian Universities as a means of improving the quality of their graduates. In addition, it seeks to improve the skills of those making and interpreting maps and also contribute to the production of quality geological maps in the country.

Speaking at the donation ceremony at Black Diamond Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos, Mr Chikwendu Edoziem, Executive Director/General Manager, Upstream, EEPNL, said that the donation was to assist universities in reversing the falling standard of education in the country.

“We commenced this programme with some targeted universities, to assist them halt the decline in the quality of education, especially in geosciences. This is considered a key component within a broad-based programme that would help achieve the goal of developing and enhancing the quality of geosciences graduates from our universities.

“Today we are proud to donate geological equipment to two universities. So far we have made an investment of over N300 million.  We hope that the investment has added value to university education by enhancing the quality of the graduates from the six universities that benefited from this pilot scheme. We urge you to make good use of the equipment. We will continue to monitor the quality of graduates produced from all the institutions and ascertain if the goals have been met as we progress with the programme,” he added.

Also speaking at the event, Mrs Tolu Adefunwa, representing NAPIMS, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, stated that the UPP scheme is an important one in the quest to improve the Nigerian education system.

According to her,“NAPIMS, in conjunction with Esso, takes education and capacity building very seriously.  We are very particular about programmes that build and sustain employment opportunities for youths in the country.  We have attended several donations and commissioning ceremonies and we are sure that the UPP has demonstrated that it is a worthwhile project that adds value to the educational system in Nigeria.”

Among items donated were: one brand new 16-seater Toyota Hiace bus, 50 hand-lenses, seven Brunton Compass-clinometers, 50 Silva Compass-clinometers, 60 geologic hammers, 10 Garmin GPS, 10Sledge hammers, one First Aid box, one Caution sign andone Fire extinguisher.

Other Universities that have benefitted from the UPP are Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Benin, University of Calabar, Delta State University, Abraka, University of Ibadan and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Akwa.