By Eyo Nsima

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva has tasked women to invest in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The Minister of State was the Guest of Honour at the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum Diversity Working Group’s Conference, which had, “Leveraging Opportunities for Women in the Oil & Gas Industry” as its theme in Lagos.

Specifically, he said that the federal government was committed to providing opportunities for women, adding that women should seize the opportunities created for them.

Also speaking, the Chairman of NNPC Limited Board, Margery Chuba Okadigbo, said: “It is common knowledge that fewer Nigerian women work in the formal sector than men. This is particularly so in the oil and gas industry, which is traditionally dominated by men. The industry is perhaps one of the most challenging for women professionally. As a significant contributor to the Nigerian economy, it is imperative to encourage the participation and involvement of women in this sector.

“There is no better time to promote this forum than now, especially with the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA. Our President has graciously appointed women, including myself into strategic board positions and executive management of the NNPC Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. There are more women coming to the realization of their potentials than ever before, and are becoming more actively involved in associated initiatives and forums like this one.”

Similarly, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote, said: “The importance of women in world affairs has been recognized and over time significant measures have been taken – and are still being taken – to bring the womenfolk to centre stage where they can be availed of the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

“For instance, Article 1 of the United Nations Charter advocates “promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”

“Similarly, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal SDG-5 advocates for the need to “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls “This is indeed essential for achieving sustainable development across all areas.

“Also, the Beijing Declaration – which was the outcome of the famous Beijing Conference of 1995 – asserted women’s rights as human rights and committed to specific actions to ensure respect for those rights.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria adopted the National Gender Policy in 2006 which requires the government to be proactive in its commitment to addressing problems affecting women and to ensure the mainstreaming of women issues in the formulation and implementation of all policies and programs. We have various laws and agencies in place to provide institutional backing for these requirements.

“All these global and national declarations are in recognition of the unique roles Women play in the society covering governance, advocacy, investments, capacity building, and many more.”

He said: “In the area of governance, examples abound of Women have consistently proven their mettle as diligent, result-oriented, and savvy hard workers in leadership positions.

“For instance, some countries in Africa such as Tanzania and Ethiopia are being led by women. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been run since 2011 to date by women. Since last year, our own Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been at the helms of affairs at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“Women have made their marks, and continue to make their marks as CEO’s of global companies such as PepsiCo, GM Motors, Yahoo, Citigroup, and many others.

“Closer home, in the last 23 years of the return of democracy, we have had women occupying the position of Federal Minister of Finance for sixteen (16) years. Dr. (Mrs) Folashade Yemi-Esan is the amiable Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. She left very indelible marks during her posting as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources where her tenacity and professionalism were noticed in the entire industry.

“In the oil and gas industry, we have right here in this audience, Senator (Mrs) Margery Chuba-Okadigbo, the pioneer Chairperson of the Board of Directors of NNPC Limited. The Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company is currently headed by Elohor Aiboni, a seasoned professional in the oil and gas industry. We have many others holding forth in several areas of the industry which attest to the fact that women are capable and competent to carry out oil and gas activities.

“Within NCDMB, we have a woman as a member of our Governing Council. We also went all out to deliberately include a female staff as a member of the Top Management Committee and Parastatal Tenders Board to deliberately provide a platform for female perspectives in our governance and decision-making process.

“With the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA 2021) in place, one of the opportunity areas that should be leveraged on as regards governance is the inclusion of women in the administration of the various Trusts and Funds contained in PIA 2021.

“The Act provides for the establishment of Host Community Development Trust (the Trust) and the Host Community Development Trust Fund for communities. PIA 2021 also prescribed financial contribution to an environmental remediation fund for the rehabilitation or management of negative environmental impacts of the petroleum operation.

“The efforts aimed at repositioning women as formidable players in key areas including the oil and gas industry is already yielding positive results and this fact is underscored by the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) 2020 survey which placed Nigeria in the 2nd position among countries where a woman may likely be one’s boss.

“We must commend all the various socio-political interventions and cultural adjustments that make this possible such that our female colleagues, our mothers, our wives, our daughters are treated with the respect they deserve in the society.

“One of the unique skill sets of our womenfolk is advocacy. Whether in the selection of a school for enrollment or in the next destination for family holidays, they possess the tact and the convincing power to secure alignment of purpose.

“Advocacy is defined as public support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy. We require the advocacy skills of our womenfolk in one of the key programs of the present administration.”

However, the Director of Planning Research and Statistics, NCDMB, Mr. Daziba Patrick Obah, stated: “I want to assure the NCCF of the continued support of the NCDMB Governing Council, Executive Secretary and the NCDMB management team in their quest to deepen local content in the industry.”