Edo State Government has reiterated the need for organisations to take into cognizance their stipulated corporate social responsibilities in other to ameliorate the suffering of the people in the various communities where they have their businesses.

A personnel from the state Ministry of Oil and Gas and Solid Minerlas, Omoruyi Ihianle, stated this at the 7th Batch award ceremony of Dubri Oil Communities Economic Empowerment Innitiative put together by the oil company to assist indigenes of Ugbaku, Gelegele and ughoton which are the company’s host communities; through skill acquisition and financial empowerment in Benin city, the state capital.
Capacity building has been cited as one of the ways of ending hostilities again companies operating in the Niger delta while also checking restiveness.

He said that it was laudable for the company to be investing in such a charitable gesture most especially at a time when crude oil is at it’s all time low.
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Besides, he said that most companies only think about making gains and forgeting completely about what their corporate social responsibilities are which often leads to restiveness of youths and leaders of such communities.

He further urged members of host communities to continue to see the equipment of the Donor company as their own as this is the only way the organisation can continue getting the funds to carry out such charitable assignments.

He said that the government has put machinery in place to ensure that organisations in Edo State carried out their corporate social responsibility.

“Government is always ensuring that organisations in the state carry out their social responsibilities because it is what is expected of them. Aside facilitating development in both Human and infrastructures, It also help in fostering a healthy relationship between the organisation and the host community and should therefore be encouraged” he said.

The chairman Board of Trustees, Dubri Oil Communities Economic Empowerment Innitiative, Alhaji M.A. Abu said that the event is another milestone for the company having given the kind of empowerment to over 115 beneficiaries from batch 1 to batch 7, and expending over N55.4million on the project over time.

Abu also said that the initiative is designed to empower youths of host communities skills acquisition and grants to enable them develop themselves and attain fulfillment, and in turn train others under them.

He also assured that as long as the peace in their various communities continued to blossom, the organisation also will continue doing its part to ensure that the communities gets their fair share of development.

One of the beneficiaries, Miss Omowunmi Beauty, who was trained for 3years in fashion designing was given a Butterfly sewing machine, an interlocking machine, one industrial weaving machine, one Zig-zag machine, a generator set, a scissor, tape, 40,000 naira cash for shop rent and 10,000 naira cash for transportation.

She said she was happy and could not have believed in her wildest dream that such good can come to her, and thanked the company for training and empowering her.

A total of 18 beneficiaries were trained and empowered in fishery, tailoring and beauty salon who also got the 50,000 cash grant and various equipments and generators needed for their jobs. A total of N4.1million was said to have been spent on all of them.