Shell Pledges Continuous Support for Education 

By Patience Chat Moses

Nigeria’s premier oil company, Shell, has reaffirmed its continuous support to education in Nigeria, building on its scholarship and allied programmes which have helped thousands of Nigerians to acquire skills for leadership positions since the 1950s.

The Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Limited, Osagie Okunbor, said this while receiving a honorary doctorate degree in Business Administration in Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) at its convocation ceremony over the weekend.

Speaking at the event he said: “Shell Companies in Nigeria have a long history of supporting education through scholarships and other initiatives,” he said. “Currently, we have over 3,500 university grants for Nigerian students. I am, therefore, delighted at the honour that you have bestowed upon me with this award of an honorary doctorate degree. I accept it gladly and, on behalf of my family and the Shell companies in Nigeria”.

In the ceremony, which was attended by the Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah and the State Commissioner for Education, Professor Ndubueze Mbah, Okunbor commended the Enugu State Government’s decision to deploy about 30% of its annual budget to educational development.

 He noted that the award will further cement the blossoming relationship between Shell Companies in Nigeria and Enugu State University of Science and Technology, and, indeed, with the government and people of the State.

In a related development, the Student Union honoured Okunbor with an award in recognition of Shell’s support to students of the university. The Student Union Government President, Donatus Okolieuwa, commended Osagie Okunbor for championing programmes that support students’ development.

Okunbor said, “Over the years, several of your students have been and are still on the Shell university scholarship programme which has been helping our dear country grow its human capacity. I also have several graduates of this university as colleagues and former colleagues in Shell Companies in Nigeria. They have always represented you with dignity. I will continue to cherish this award.”