By Akpan Udo-Inyang
CALABAR -The Office of the Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Otu on Oil and Gas in collaboration with Research Gateway Professional Institute (RGPI) has organized a training for 2,000 youths across the state on general Oil and Gas services with international certification.
Research Gateway Professional Institute RGPI organizes professional and youth empowerment programmes in Nigeria such as the oil and gas sector training initiatives.
It is meant to train beneficiaries on oil and gas exploration, safety, maintenance, production, engineering, logistics, environmental management and other specialized fields
The Director of Research Gateway Professional Institute, Mr ThankGod Arong Onda, disclosed this at the Youth Empowerment Oil and Gas training CPD – Accreditated Empowerment Programme for 2,000 youths of Cross River State held on Thursday in Calabar.
Onda further stated that the Cross River state government has committed more than N700 million to the training programme, which also include a N500,000 scholarship for each participant.
According to him, the training was designed to prepare Cross River youths to play a key role in managing the state’s oil assets if efforts to reclaim its oil wells succeed.
He added that following the orientation in Calabar, zonal training sessions would be held in Ogoja for the Northern Senatorial District and Ikom for the Central Senatorial District, with participants drawn from all 18 local government areas before the final graduation ceremony.
The beneficiaries, who were equipped with safety helmets, were urged to take the training seriously and emerge as responsible ambassadors of Cross River State.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Oil and Gas, Mr Ukpong Umoh, said genuine empowerment goes beyond distributing certificates, stressing the importance of equipping beneficiaries with knowledge, practical skills, confidence and access to opportunities.
Umoh encouraged the participants to consider how they could use the knowledge acquired to create value and address challenges within their communities and the wider economy.
In his keynote address, the Cross River governor, Senator Bassey Otu who was represented by the speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem, said, “the programme was particularly significant because it brings opportunity directly to 2,000 young Cross Riverians through structured training and internationally relevant certification in the oil and gas sector.”
Otu, added that the theme, “Skill Up in the Season of Sweetness,” speaks directly to our vision of a Cross River where young people are not merely beneficiaries of government programmes but active participants in the State’s economic transformation.”
He maintained that” The oil and gas industry remains a major component of Nigeria’s economy, with opportunities extending beyond exploration and production to engineering, logistics, safety, environmental management, procurement, maintenance, data services and other specialised fields.”
” Our responsibility as a government is therefore to ensure that our young people acquire the knowledge, technical competence and professional credentials required to compete effectively for these opportunities” the governor also said.
Otu, also stated that “This initiative also aligns with our commitment to human capital development and economic inclusion” explaining that “The training of 2,000 youths through CPD-accredited Certificate and Diploma programmes represents an investment not only in individuals but in families, communities and the future productive capacity of Cross River State.”