Victor Duruamaku, 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 economically resourceful.
The maiden Imo State edition 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 over the empowerment.
