Amby Uneze in Owerri
The NNPC/Seplat Energy Joint Venture (JV) has graduated its first cohort of teachers in Imo State under the Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme (STEP), equipping 127 teachers and education evaluators with digital skills, STEAM-focused teaching techniques/approaches and alternative income-generation skills to strengthen their professional development and make them resourceful economically.
The maiden edition in the State brought together teachers from communities across the state for an intensive training programme over a three-month-period, designed to go beyond conventional classroom instruction. Participants received practical training in digital learning, communications, entrepreneurship and skills development, with a focus on empowering them to apply the knowledge gained in their classrooms and communities.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Director of External Affairs & Social Performance, Seplat Energy Plc, Chioma Afe, represented by the General Manager, Corporate Social Investment & Social Performance, Seplat Energy Plc, Esther Icha, said that the Joint Venture’s investment in education was driven by its belief that empowering teachers was one of the most effective ways to create lasting impact in communities.
She noted that the STEP programme had previously been implemented in Edo and Delta States, where more than 2,000 teachers had been trained and empowered, adding that the Imo edition marked the programme’s first intervention in the state.
According to Afe, the programme was deliberately designed to extend beyond conventional teaching skills by equipping teachers with digital competencies to integrate technology into teaching and learning, improve productivity and better prepare students for an increasingly digital world.
She also highlighted the programme’s focus on alternative sources of income, noting that economic empowerment could strengthen teachers’ financial resilience, encourage entrepreneurship and provide opportunities for additional income beyond their primary profession.
Addressing the graduating teachers, Afe urged them to view their certificates not as the end of their journey, but as the beginning of a greater responsibility to apply their knowledge and share it with others.
“Take the digital skills you have acquired into your classrooms, share your knowledge with fellow teachers, encourage your students to learn, explore and innovate,” she said.
She challenged the teachers to become examples of responsible entrepreneurship and financial empowerment in their communities, stressing that the true measure of the programme would be the impact created after the graduation.
“The true measure of this programme will be in the impact you create after today, the students you inspire, the colleagues you support and the communities you influence,” Afe added.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief Upstream Investment Officer, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), Olanrewaju Igandan, the Subsurface Operations Advisor, NUIMS, Chizoba Onyike said the graduation represented more than the completion of a teacher-training programme, describing it as an investment in the future of host communities.
He noted that teachers serve as critical channels through which knowledge and opportunity are transferred to younger generations.
“Today is not just the graduation of trained teachers, it also means our impact in host communities. Because we very well know that if you educate the teachers, you empower the community,” Igandan said.
He thanked the partners, facilitators, government representatives and other stakeholders who contributed to the success of the programme and wished the graduating teachers success in their future endeavours.
Also speaking, the Executive Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, represented by the Hon. Commissioner for Education, Imo State, Prof. B.T.O. Ikegwuoha, congratulated the participants and expressed joy at the JV’s teachers’ empowerment initiative coming to the state.
He charged the teachers to embrace the changing nature of education by moving beyond memorisation and conventional teaching approaches towards practical, research-driven and skills-based learning.
The governor encouraged the teachers to become trainers, mentors and innovators, urging them to embody the STEP motto: “Teach. Inspire. Transform.”
“These products exhibited here are products you made by yourself. One, it gives you self-esteem that you are able to produce value. Secondly, it is a source of residual income,” he said.
He also urged the teachers to use the knowledge gained from the programme to positively influence their students, emphasising that meaningful transformation could begin with impacting one student at a time.
In the same vein, Hon. Commissioner for Niger Delta Affairs and Intelligence, Imo State, Dr Henry Okafor, commended the Seplat Energy JV for what he described as its strong commitment to community engagement and development in Imo State.
Okafor described education as the foundation of individual and societal development and commended the Joint Venture for investing in teachers, particularly in communities within the state’s oil-producing areas.
He urged the beneficiaries to see their participation as an opportunity earned through hard work and encouraged them to use the knowledge acquired to create positive change in their schools and communities.
On the entrepreneurship and innovation challenge, a practical component of the programme, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Imo State, Dr Benedicta Okorie, who chaired the panel of judges, disclosed that 23 entries were initially received, with 16 contestants advancing to the final presentation stage. The contestants were assessed on problem-solution fit, market viability and demand, design and functionality, financial feasibility and scalability, operational capacity and management, risk assessment and mitigation, as well as presentation and communication.
Nwachukwu Choice Oleji, who presented a concept around antiseptic production, emerged as the overall winner with 432 points and received a ₦500,000 cash prize to support the development of the business.
Obinna Nnele, who presented unripe plantain flour, emerged second with 425 points, while Golden Ezekwe, whose business concept focused on braiding, placed third with 421 points. They received grants of ₦300,000 and ₦200,000, respectively.
Other business concepts presented by participants included liquid soap production, fashion design and fish farming, demonstrating the programme’s emphasis on practical skills and alternative sources of income.
One of the two-joint best graduating teachers, Samuel Chijoke, a Mathematics teacher at Stella Maris Foundation School, Ohaji, said the programme had equipped participants with knowledge and ICT resources they could take back to their classrooms.
The co-best graduating teacher, Onuoha Success expressed appreciation to the NEPL/Seplat JV and NNPC, saying that the programme had impacted him both professionally and personally. He encouraged the Joint Venture to sustain the initiative in Imo State.
The STEP programme reflects the NNPC/Seplat Energy JV’s broader commitment to education, skills development and sustainable community impact across its areas of operation. By equipping teachers with relevant digital, pedagogical and entrepreneurial skills, the programme seeks to strengthen educators while enabling them to become catalysts for change within their schools and communities.
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