Women in Oil and Gas (WEOG) have emphasised the role of collaboration to enhance sustainable energy solutions and the future for Nigeria.
This was at the organisation’s Annual Membership Meeting (AMM) and inauguration of new executives and members, themed, ‘Collaborating for Sustainable Energy Future,’ held in Lagos.
National Consultant on Private Sector Partnerships, United Nations Women, Hansatu Adegbite, said women can leverage on the affirmative procurement policies also called Supplier diversity, coming up in Nigeria especially in Lagos and Kaduna states, which means that a certain percentage of public procurement contracts on private sector should go to businesses owned by women.
According to her, over $6.6 billion goes to procurement yearly from the private sector and less than 1 per cent of women-owned businesses benefit from it currently in Nigeria.
“So, UN Women, and World Bank are training women to handle procurements and helping them with certifications they need for that,” she said.
She urged women to be informed, take action and collaborate to strengthen their advantage either as consortiums or experts to take advantage of such opportunities.
Adegbite, who is also an advisory member of WEOG, said there are multiple opportunities women within the space can explore, noting, however, that it requires collaboration and identifying them.
“There is power in numbers. If you are a consortium or have the strength of numbers, you can achieve so much more. There has to be a galvanising of skills, strengths, networks, opportunities and access. It is good to collaborate so you can leverage on stronger opportunities and have a stronger advantage,” she added.
Founding National President, WEOG, Dr Oladunni Owo, said in 2025, the body seeks to accelerate sustainable energy future for the careers and businesses of members and the industry.
She said they would embark on multiple collaborations for capacity building, training, mentorship and business partnerships.
“We would train members on how to form joint ventures that would last. We are also looking foward to leveraging this theme to also have both local,national and international collaborations geared towards closing gender gap in the energy oil and gas value chain, energy poverty and economic gap,” she said.
On energy outlook, she expressed optimism stating that the current administration is doing a lot for Nigeria to become a self sufficient nation by increasing production at upstream level, local content participation at ministry level, refining and local production of refined product in Nigeria.
Newly Inaugurated President, WEOG, Tolu Longe, tasked the women on bold action as they need to rewrite the narrative, challenge the status quo and break barriers of women in the sector.
To do this, she urged the women to commit to actions that elevate, empower, impact, influence and innovate.
“Together we will strengthen our mentorship networks, create leadership pipelines and ensure that no woman in the industry has to work alone again. We will lead conversations on sustainability, technological advancements, as well as the future of energy.
“We will take our place at decision-making tables, advocate for policies that create opportunities, and forge strategic alliances that amplify our impact on a national and global scale,” she said.
