Smiles lit the faces of the young students. It was as if Christmas had managed to come in October. The youths had just received something their counterparts in other countries might take for granted but that was all too dear in Nigeria. These young people dream of a sound education; but, for many of them, the dream is elusive because there are not enough books to go around. For these fortunate students, this hurdle has been surmounted. By the truckload, they received new books, computers and other material that will enrich their education and their lives. What makes this donation special is that the books and computers were not limited to select students at a few choice schools. More than a token gift, what took place was literally a benign flood of books that will significantly improve the quality of …
On November 1, 2012, Sir Emeka Offor hosted the hierarchy of Rotary from Districts 9125, 9140 and 9125 at his country home in Oraifite, Anambra State. The three Districts had requested an opportunity to pay a courtesy call on Sir Offor to show their appreciation for his donations to Rotary International. Sir Offor had donated a sum of $250,000 for Peace Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand and another $250,000 for Polio Eradication. Rotarians present at the gathering included Bob Ogbuagu (Past District Governor - PDG), Gabriel Toby (former Deputy Governor of Rivers State), Ben Aghazu (PDG), Buchi Onuoha (District Governor - DG), Felix Obadan (DG), Joshua Hassan (Regional District Coordinator) and Yinka Babalola, among others. The Rector and Rotaractors (students) of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko were also present. Rotarians at the occasion praised the vision and uncommon courage of …
The following article, written by Jams Emejo, was published on October 17, 2012 in This Day: The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) alongside the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Tuesday unveiled the commercial bids submitted by investors who had been prequalified to have their bids opened for the 10 distribution companies (discos) slated for sale under the power privatisation programme. The Federal Government is expected to realise about N197.25 billion from the sale of the 10 discos, according to the Chairman, Technical Committee of the NCP, Mr. Atedo Peterside. Leading the winners' chart was Integrated Energy Distribution and Retail Marketing Limited, which is chaired by former military head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd). The company emerged the preferred bidder for four power distribution utilities, comprising Yola, Ibadan, Eko and Ikeja Discos, by submitting average technical, commercial and collection (ATC&C) loss …
The following article, written by Clara Nwachukwu and Oscarline Onwuemenyi on October 17, 2012: Abuja — Six firms have won the bids to operate ten electricity distribution companies across the country, a process which may signal the end of efforts by the Federal government to privatize the successor distribution companies (DISCOs) created from the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). According to the National Council on Privatisation, which is headed by the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, the envisaged total proceeds from the sale of 60 per cent of the 10 DISCOs being offered for sale is N197.25 billion. Companies bidding for the 10 distribution companies include Interstate Electrics Ltd, KANN Consortium Utility Ltd, Vigeo Power Consortium, Southern Electricity Distribution Company, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Ltd., New Electricity Distribution Company Consortium, West Power and Gas, Honeywell …
The following report, written by Joe Brock and Camillus Eboh, was published on October 16, 2012: ABUJA, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Nigeria announced the preferred bidders on Tuesday for 10 state power distribution firms it is selling for 197.25 billion naira ($1.25 billion) as part of a plan to reform the country's moribund electricity sector. Power outages, which amount to several hours per day, are the biggest brake on growth in Africa's second biggest economy and a frequent complaint of Nigeria's 160 million people. In 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan announced plans to break up the state power company and sell it off as 11 distribution and six generation companies. He has promised a tenfold increase in electricity by 2020. Previous state sell-offs in Nigeria were blighted by political infighting and corruption, which have caused years of delays. Regulators said this process …
The article, "Kaztec will soon move into deep offshore projects – Sir Emeka Offor." which was published this week in Sweetcrude, breaks the news that in view of Katztec's successes in onshore oil and gas projects, the company plans to go into the deepwater terrain. Such a move would demonstrate indigenous capacity in the region, still largely dominated by the multinationals. Below are excerpts from the interview published in the story. Q: Since Kaztec Engineering was incorporated what has been its milestone accomplishments in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry? Kaztec was incorporated in Nigeria, in June 2005, and by the special Grace of God, it has grown to become a leading Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Construction, EPIC contractor in Nigeria. It is a subsidiary of the Chrome Group, and the company has performed creditably over the years in terms of quality …
The article, "Chrome Group subsidiary targets $1bilion annual turnover in five years," in Premium Times says The Chrome Group subsidiary Kaztec Engineering Limited (http://www.kaztec-eng.com/), which is an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company, plans to grow its annual turnover by about five times the current level of over $200 million within the next five years. The information comes from Projects Director, Geoffe Stone, speaking on the sidelines of the 12th Nigeria Oil & Gas (NOG) Conference in Abuja this week. Mr. Stone said the company’s growth strategy would be devoid of mergers and acquisitions, but would involve leveraging on the potentials of other interests under The Chrome Group. The following is from the article, which was written by Bassey Udo: Chrome is the parent company of the Environmental Remediation Holding Company (ERHC) Energy, which has extensive interests in the Nigeria /Sao …
The article, "Honour for a philanthopist," in The Nation reports on an award from student union government of the Federal Polytechnic Oko for Sir Emeka Offor, recognizing his contributions toward the gorwth ahd development of the institution. According to the article: Sir Offor also used the opportunity to shower the students with another set of donation of information communication equipment including 10 brand new desktop and laptop computers and accessories. The interest of Sir Emeka in the institution was borne out of personal conviction on the need to raise the standard of education in the country. The slogan that charity begins at home also contributed in no small measure in the choice of Oko as a focal point for the foundation’s school empowerment program. The foundation is committed to the development of students across the state especially the intelligent but indigent …
The article, "Emeka Offor boosts reading culture...Distributes books to 200 schools, libraries," in the Daily Sun, reporting on the good works of the Emeka Offor Foundation. The story describes the distribution of more than one million volumes of books to various universities, polytechnics, secondary schools, primary schools and states as well as community libraries in the country. On the whole, 30 universities, 80 secondary schools, 80 primary schools and 15 libraries in the country benefited in the first phase of the books distribution which took place at Oraifite Civic Centre, Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State. Chairman of the event was the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim. Among the dignitaries were the governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, …
The article, "Emeka Offor’s elixir for education," in The Nation provides a good account of the efforts of the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF) to aid schools in Nigeria. It tells the story of the Foundation's donation of more than one million tons of books for distribution to 230 Nigerian schools. The donations went to 100 primary schools, 100 secondary schools and 30 tertiary institutions. The schools are from the six geo-political zones of the country. Making the donations in Oraifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, the founder of the foundation, Sir Emeka Offor, said the objective of the foundation was to give back to the society what God had given him. Present at the distribution of the books and other educational materials including laptops, desktops among others, were the Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius …