OIL giant, Chevron Nigeria Ltd (CNL), has restated its belief that education remains a veritable tool to engender personal and societal developments as well as sustainable growth in the country.
Chairman/Managing Director, CNL, Mr Jeffrey Ewing, made the remarks weekend at the presentation ceremony for the 2018 Awokoya Memorial Competition in Chemistry which held at the Conference Centre of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Delta State.
The awards ceremony was well attended by dignitaries from all walks of life as well as students from participating schools who came tops at the annual competition.
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Mr Ewing, who was represented by CNL’s PGPA superintendent, Warri, Mr Tony Emegere, reiterated that the oil giant was committed to improving the quality of education in Nigeria so that the country could develop more quality manpower in different fields, beside the oil and gas sector.
He maintained that for many years till date, the NNPC/CNL Joint Venture has shown commitments to supporting quality education through investments in education infrastructure, sponsorship of manpower development programmes and provision of scholarships.
He lauded the commitment of NNPC/CNL Joint Venture, the Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN) and the Delta State government to the Awokoya Memorial Competition in Chemistry which has been stimulating the interest of secondary school students in the study of Chemistry.
Chairperson, Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN), Delta State chapter, Dr Mrs Tina Olubukola Isichei, in her opening remarks, lauded NNPC/CNL Joint Venture, sponsors of the Awokoya Memorial Chemistry Competition, for their continued support for the programme in the state.
She, however, appealed to the oil giant to up the funding of the programme in order to reach out to more students to participate in the competition and teachers for the “Train the Trainer” workshop.
Dr Isichei hinted that in the 2018 edition, about 600 students from 350 schools in Delta State participated in the first stage of the examination from which Master Ate Ovie Great from NEPA Staff Secondary School, Sapele, later came tops in the state and first runner-up at the national level held in Ibadan.
In his remarks, National President, CSN, Prof Sunday Olawale Okeniyi, who was represented by Dr Peter Berezi, averred that CSN was poised in raising more commuted chemists for the overall benefits of mankind.
Okeniyi, who thanked NNPC/CNL JV for its continued sponsorship of the competition, urged students to do more to achieve success in their academic endeavours, adding that parents should keep encouraging their wards on the essence of such competitions designed to make them better.
Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Chiedu Ebie, who was represented, lauded CSN and CNL for their supports and sponsorship of the competition.
Ibie urged the students to be more focused in their academics while commending them for their performances in the Chemistry competition in the past years both at the state and the national levels.
In his lecture at the award ceremony, Guest Lecturer and Dean of Faculty of Sciences, Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, Prof Samuel Ogbelue, lamented the state of moribund textile in petrochemical firms in the country, advocating their resuscitation.
The don called on governments at various levels to encourage the study of Chemistry and other sciences by equipping secondary schools with requisite laboratories, more teachers and funds.
He noted that adequate funds for equipment and teachers will stimulate interest in science courses, arouse the interest of teachers to hard work which will culminate in more researches and development.
TribuneOnline notes that the Awokoya Memorial Chemistry Competition is an annual event organised by Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN) for final year students in secondary schools across the country and aimed at sensitizing and encouraging the study of Chemistry.
Students, who come tops from their various states in the examination (said to have with zero tolerance for malpractice) usually slug it out from where the top three will emerge.
This year’s competition at the national level saw Master Ate Ovie Great of NEPA Staff School, Sapele, winning the first prize at the Delta State chapter and second at the national level.
Master Jack Gogo Ataisikup and Oyawiri Martin of Government College, Ughelli and Our Savior Secondary School, Sapele, emerged second and third runners up at the state level. respectively.
Teachers and schools of the top three winners, namely: Mr Eveierejeria Emmanuel of NEPA Staff School, Sapele, Mr Anthony Mukoro of Government College, Ughelli, and Mrs Onwenna Doris of Our Savior Secondary School, Sapele, were also presented with various prizes.
Students and teachers from seven of the top 10 schools were also presented with consolations prizes at the award ceremony.
Teacher of the best student, Mr Eveierejeria, who had been teaching Chemistry for nine years, said he reluctantly picked interest in the Awokoya competition, but eventually found himself producing the best student from the state in the competition.
He lauded the student, Master Ate, for taking up the challenge and enduring the stress of devotion in the coaching he got that brought him success.
Recipient of the first prize, Master Ate, who spoke with TribuneOnline after the presentation, said although he worked pretty hard, God was ultimately behind his success.
Principal of NEPA Staff School, Sapele, Mrs Hope Nweke, whose school and student got the first prize, said “I feel very great and coincidentally the boy that came first his name is Great.
“So we are very happy to have this opportunity and this is our very first time of coming to this position so we are very grateful to God and to the organisers of the programme.”
TribuneOnline reports that the Awokoya Memorial Chemistry Competition, anchored by CSN, was endowed by late Dr A. K. Fasina, in memory of Professor Steven Oluwale Awokoya, the first Nigerian graduate of Chemistry, who died about 33 years ago, from the then University College, Ibadan.
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