Six hundred students across engineering disciplines from each of the top six Nigerian universities have been offered internship programmes by the management of Duport Midstream Company Limited.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Akintoye Akindele, who made the pledge on Wednesday during an inspection tour of the facility, dubbed the Energy Park, alongside other partners in Egbokor, Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, said the company would kick off the programme with 100 students from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, before accomodating students from other universities.
Akindele said the first phase of the facility, which has modular refinery operations, gas processing facility, data centre and power plant, would commence operation by April 2022.
“We are proud to announce to give 100 students internship every year to experience this project. For a start, we will offer an internship programme to 100 students from Obafemi Awolowo University and their emoluments will be based on minimum wage and they will be housed in the staff quarters.
“Afterwards, it will be extended to other top five universities across the country, amounting to 600 students per annum,” Akindele said.
He added that the project had over 70 per cent local content with 95 per cent total workforce being Nigerians.
“This is an energy park from a point of view of all the sources such as gas, power, oil and data centre technology. We have fused the old industry of energy and new technology to create a carbon-accretive, modern-day business that not only imparts the environment positively, but creates jobs and also boosts the confidence of local engineers.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars have gone into this project and this is 99 per cent locally funded by the government through the Nigerian Content Development Board, by bankers through the First City Monument Bank, Union Bank, Zenith Bank and Polaris bank.”
Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, while expressing gratitude to Duport, said the institution is ready to work with the firm.
“I am here as the Vice-Chancellor to represent the management, staff and students to say thank you to the partners of this project. We believe there are mutual benefits we can derive from this partnership.
“We are looking forward to a time when our students will enjoy the good things happening to Nigerian students. We are not only talking of our students; our staff will also want to be here to see how they can work with the company,” Ogunbodede said.
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