By Saidu Abubakar
Nigeria’s Folashade Adekeye has emerged as the Chairperson, Forum of the Directors of Oil and Gas Training and Vocational Education Institutes of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO).
Adekeye, who is the Director, NNPC Academy, took over from the former chairperson, Mr. Abdelkader Guenone, the Managing Director of the Algerian Petroleum Institute (API), during the second meeting of the Forum, in Abuja, at the weekend.
A statement by Olufemi O. Soneye, who is the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPC, said that Adekeye, who heads the NNPC’s oil and gas training arm, brings into the role over 30 years of experience, and is expected to work with her colleagues from APPO Member-Countries in order to foster more collaboration towards addressing the challenges of competences, skill gaps, infrastructure and poor funding in the organization’s training institutions.
Earlier in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the meeting, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Mele Kyari, represented by Inuwa Danladi, Executive Vice President (Business Services), emphasized the importance of a standardized educational and training approach to meet the changing demands of the oil and gas industry.
Also in his address, APPO’s Secretary General, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, charged the Member-Countries to work towards further enhancing collaborative efforts to establish Oil and Gas Centres of Excellence across the African continent.
According to the statement made available to Valuechain, Dr. Ibrahim, also from Nigeria, said having good knowledge of the Forum’s challenges would enable APPO Member-Countries to make recommendations and provide solutions in areas such as Oil and Gas project funding, technology adoption and the formation of Africa Energy Bank.
He concluded that such collaboration by all Member-Countries will guarantee Africa’s energy accessibility, affordability and sustainability, which overall, will strengthen her economies and bring prosperity to its citizens, the statement added.