The weekly activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) got off on a good note as the Nigerian Gas Company Limited (NGC), a subsidiary of the corporation handed over starter packs to 40 women drawn from 20 host communities in Abia, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States, who trained in five different vocations.
The gesture was part of NNPC’s Corporate Social Responsibilty (CSR) in its host communities.
The NGC presented the starter packs to the participants of it’s Women Empowerment Programme, at a handover ceremony in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The women were trained in makeup artistry, fashion and design, computer, catering and hair dressing.
Managing Director of the NGC, Engr. Seyi Omotowa said the Company organised the empowerment workshop for its host communities because it strongly believes in the development of such communities.
Omotowa who was represented by the Executive Director, Support Services, NGC, Mrs Uche Ossai said, the structure and intent of the workshop was to train and empower women between the ages of 20-40 to enable them to be self-reliant and provide support to their families and communities.
He added that the handover of the starter packs to the participants is a testament of NGC’S commitment to actualizing it’s promises despite budgetary constraints.
“On our part, we shall continue to solicit for your cooperation and assistance in the maintenance of peace and support for our business growth aspirations, in the interest of our people in these host communities and Nigeria in general.”
Mrs Ugoeze Sandra from Abia State who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, thanked the management and staff of NGC for training and empowering the women with various skills as well as handing over starter packs to them.
She assured the NGC that the starter packs will be put into good use.
Also in the week the NNPC through its Advanced Leadership Programme (ALP) Batch 092, code named ‘Rejuvenators’ donated assorted food items to the Abuja Orphanage Children School, as part of their CSR.
The ALP which was formerly known as Chief Officers Management Development programme is the transition training for senior officers who are prepared to progress to the management cadre in the Corporation.
President of ALP Batch 092, Mr Wunti Mohammed, said the donation was borne out of the desire to reduce hunger in the land and provide food which is one of the basic necessities of life to the vulnerable children.
The Administrator Abuja Orphanage Children school, Adenike Akinbobola, described the donation of the assorted food items as a welcome development, noting that the food items would address the nutrition challenge of the orphans.
Still in the week under review, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), NNPC Corporate Headquarters Chapter, elected a new Executive Committee with Comrade Addy William Arthur as Chairman and Mrs Christiana Akachukwu as Vice Chairman.
They were elected alongside eight other officers at an election which held at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
The new executive will run the affairs of the union for the next three years.
Arthur to uphold the objectives of the union and sustain the prevailing cordial relationship between the NNPC management and the union.
The immediate past chairman, Comrade Vincent Orji, commended the NNPC management and staff for their support which helped in no small way to make his tenure successful.
He pledged to continue to support the new leadership and the union.
In the meantime, the NNPC has been applauded for its transparency in the conduct of its activities.
Stakeholders including National Assembly members, applauded the Malam Mele Kyari leadership, noting that it had entrenched trust and commitment into the corporation dealings with the public.
On the global scene, Oil prices fell on fading fears of a prolonged outage of the largest United States fuel pipeline system, while India’s coronavirus crisis showed scant sign of easing, with a seven-day average of new cases at a record high.
Brent crude futures dropped 43 cents, or 0.63%, to $67.89 per barrel, after climbing 4 cents.
United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 45 cents, or 0.69%, to $64.47 per barrel, after gaining 2 cents.
Oil was retreating amid weak sentiment as Asian stocks suffered a tech-led selloff and the market shrugged off concerns about a temporary shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, said DailyFX strategist Margaret Yang.
Meanwhile, the Market Intelligence Department of NNPC’s London Office reported that the Brent crude has been rangebound for the past three months, with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC-plus) production curbs putting a floor under prices and upside capped by uncertainty about the strength of demand.
Brent has consistently traded in the low to high $60s per barrel since Feb. 8 and the paper market is still pricing in a tight balance between supply and demand in the second half of the year.
But for all their resilience, prices have failed to break through $70 per barrels, and views about the average oil price in the second half of 2021 seem to converge around $65 per barrel.
So far, the recovery in demand for oil has been disappointing, with stockdraws slower than expected. Global inventories declined at an average rate of 2.7 million barrels per day during the first quarter of 2021, Energy Intelligence estimates.
China’s oil demand is not as strong as the market had expected it to be, even though the country’s implied oil demand has risen.
Follow us on www.nannews.ng for weekly review of the activities of the Corporation. (NAN)
