NNPC shines at NSE Fellowship Award for contributions to national development

*The NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, 6 other staff inducted at 16th Edition of the Nigerian Society of Engineers’ (NSE) Fellowship Award ceremony

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

For the state oil firm’s robust contributions to development of especially the engineering profession in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently became the centre of attraction at the 16th Edition of the Nigerian Society of Engineers’ (NSE) Fellowship Award ceremony in Abuja, FCT.

The Corporation bagged a Special Recognition Award and seven of its personnel, including Engr. Adokiye Tombomieye, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Upstream, conferred with the prestigious Fellowship Award ceremony.

Dr. Kennie Obateru, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, in a statement Wednesday, November 18, 2020, disclosed that Special Recognition Award was given to the Corporation for its robust contributions to the development of engineering in the country.

The statement noted Engr. Babagana Mohammed, President of the NSE, who presented the award to the Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, stressed that the Corporation is the backbone to the visible development of the country and the engineering profession.

According to Engr. Mohammed, NNPC has remained committed to offering free training to young engineers through the National Engineering and Technical Company Limited (NETCO) in a bid to assist in providing the manpower requirement in the oil and gas industry.

The NSE boss urged the awardees to keep flying the flag of the NSE in their various endeavours positively, stressing that they are duty bound to serve as role models to others in the society.

Malam Kyari, represented by Engr. Adeyemi Adetunji, Chief Operating Officer, Ventures and Business Development of NNPC, also said NNPC would continue to play a major role in growing the engineering profession.

The NNPC GMD described the engineering profession as critical to the success of the Corporation.

The Corporation will remain focused on key projects such as Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline and refineries rehabilitation, to ensure that they are delivered on time, within budget and to specifications, said he.

Kyari stated: “This award is in recognition of NNPC’s contribution to the nation’s development, and its efforts and drive to improve engineering profession in Nigeria. “NNPC as a responsible national oil company will continue to focus on key projects that will deliver optimal value to Nigerians.”

He applauded the COO and the other staff who were awarded the NSE fellowship, for attaining the peak of the Engineering profession, noting that the Corporation would continue to be a pacesetter in the Engineering vocation as the foremost National Oil Company in Africa.

Engr. Tombomieye, the COO, Upstream, said the award would motivate him to bring his professional expertise to bear on his job by adding value to the Upstream business of the Corporation for the good of the country.

Earlier, Engr. Felix Atume, Chairman of the Board of Fellows of the NSE, had congratulated Tombomieye and the other Engineers on the fellowship award, and urged them to uphold the ethics of the engineering profession for upcoming engineers to emulate.

Engr. Usman Baba, Managing Director of NETCO, on the event stated that the recognition would spur the company to continue to build the capacity of young engineers in the country and prepare them for the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

NETCO, according to him, offers the young graduates placement and pays them as a way of contributing towards tackling unemployment in the country.

Engr. Baba said: “As the NSE President mentioned, NETCO trains young Nigerian Engineers, as the only indigenous engineering company in the face of this dangerous situation where other companies do not want to train and nobody wants to employ non-experienced staff.

“So, NETCO has taken the responsibility of training them with pay, so that they can be marketable in the industry.

“This is one of our major contributions to the industry. As of today, we have brought in about 35 new young graduates of the engineering profession to be trained for the market.”

Two other NNPC staff who were conferred with the award, Engr. Sagiru Adamu and Engr. Bassey Essiet, as well described the fellowship award as a dream come true.

Highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of the awards by GMD of NNPC, Malam Kyari, to the Minister of Power, Engr. Saleh Mamman, Director of Department of Petroleum Resources, Engr. Sarki Muktar, and to the COO, Upstream of NNPC, Engr. Tombomieye, the statement said.

A total of 120 Engineers were conferred with the fellowship awards at the 16th edition of the NSE award and lecture series, with eight others being conferred with their awards virtually.