As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, an indigenous oil giant in Rivers State has awarded scholarships to 374 students in its host communities.
The company, Belemaoil Producing Limited in a Joint Venture, JV, with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, put the scholarships in three categories: Post-Graduate, Undergraduate and Post-Primary.
Of the 374 beneficiaries, 175 are under-graduates, 78 post-graduates while 121 of them are post-primary students.
Chief Tonye Graham-Douglas, the chairman of the occasion lauded the initiative of Belemaoil and charged the beneficiaries not to misuse the opportunity.
Mr. Jack-Rich Tein, the Founder/President of Belemaoil, said the scholarship was not a show of wealth, but in recognition of the important role education plays in the lives of the young people.
Tein, while handing over the cheques to the beneficiaries in Port Harcourt, said “We are here not just to celebrate the success that has come to them, but to honour the privilege given to us as a company to serve.
“We recognise very importantly that if you joke with education, then you are joking with the future of the nation and if you fail to pick these young ones who have the zeal to pursue their academic dream, you are limiting the unraveling of future opportunities that they would have used to grow themselves and as well as society,
He hoped that “And I believe very strongly that what we have come here to celebrate is not just a display of so much wealth but a display of interest, that believing in the young ones of today is unlocking the future of tomorrow and that is making the society a better place.”