Midwestern Oil, Gas Awards Scholarship, Donates Classrooms in Delta

In pursuit of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Midwestern Oil and Gas, a marginal field operator, has awarded 42 scholarships to different categories of students in Delta State.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr Charles Odita, an engineer, who announced the awards recently in Kwale during an elaborate ceremony that drew industry stakeholders and community leaders, said the company, along with its JV partner, Suntrust Oil Company are “constantly searching for ways and means of improving the lives of our people both in the host community and in Delta State in general.”

Odita explained that the CSR philosophy of the company is to consider it as a strategy that not only improves the lot of the people, but also provides a friendly environment that encourages productivity.

The scholarship awardees, which were selected from previously organised written tests, include 13 students in the secondary school category and 29 university students. The company had earlier advertised the offer wherein students were advised to apply. They were given their scholarship award letters during the ceremony.

The awardees were drawn from various universities and fields of studies, including Medicine, Law, Engineering, Computer Science, Pharmacy, Laboratory Technology, among others. They will enjoy the scholarship throughout the duration of their study, provided they maintain a given academic standard of performance.

While the secondary school students will receive N50,000 each every session, the undergraduates will receive N150,000 each for the 2017/2018 session.

The state Commissioner for Basic Education, Mr. Chinedu Ebie, represented by the Chief Inspector of Education, Ndokwa West LGA, Mrs. Patience Okwuchi, commended the company for the faithfulness in pursuing its CSR every year. The company has consistently awarded scholarship to Delta indigenes for 12 years.

He enjoined the beneficiaries of the awards to justify the support the company is giving them in their educational pursuit and charged the community to ensure that facilities provided for the development of the community by the company are well preserved and taken care of.

The company also donated a block of modern five classrooms, fitted with modern toilet facilities as well as borehole to Lagos-Ogbe Primary School, in Ogbeani community.

The traditional ruler of the community, the Oduosa of Utagba-Ogbe Kingdom, HRM, Nze-Uku Isaac Obi, who inaugurated the project, commended the company for always filling the development gap in the surrounding communities.

He called for the provision of furniture and other facilities in the school.

Although Okwuchi expressed delight that the gesture has rescued students from studying under the tree, the Chairman of Community Accredited Contact man Committee (CACC), Mr. Emeke Ikuni, regretted that most of the provisions of the MoU signed between the community and the company are yet to be fulfilled. He pointed out that the provision of 500KVA transformer and community bus are some of the unfulfilled provisions of the MoU.

He however expressed satisfaction that the classrooms will transform the learning environment of the students, stressing that “the physical environment for learning affects the learner.”