3rd SITEI Conference Gathers Steam As Key Industry Stakeholders and Captains Endorse Event, Confirm Participation

 

Plans are in top gear for a successful hosting of the third Sustainability in the Extractive Industries (SITEI) Conference at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, with endorsements and confirmation of attendance by keynote speakers, industry captains and heads of relevant government agencies, ministries and parastatals.

Top on the list of endorsements and confirmed attendees is the Executive Governor, Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Ernest Nwapa. Others include Raymond Wilcox, General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, Chevron; Lara Banjoko, Chief Executive Officer, Zone 4 Energy; Yomi Awobokun, Chief Executive Officer, Oando Downstream; Dayo Okusami, General Counsel and Executive Director, Atlantic Energy; Ladi Bada, Chief Executive Officer, Shoreline Natural Resources Limited; Meka Olowola, Managing Partner, Zenera Consulting; Douglas Kativu, Head, Global Reporting Initiative Focal Point; Emeka Ene, Chairman, PETAN; Niyi Yusuf, Managing Director, Accenture Nigeria; Innocent Chukwuma, West Africa Representative, Ford Foundation; John Momoh, Chairman, Channels Television; Christine K, Director, Heinrich Boell Foundation Nigeria; Jeffrey Corey, COO, Seven Energy; Prof. Wale Omole, Member, Board of Trustee, CSR-in-Action; Fidel Pepple, Immediate Past General Manager, NAPIMS; Olufemi Olarewaju, Director Sustainability School; Taofiq Tijani, Hon. Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Lagos State; Doyin Olutona, Co-Founder, U-turn Africa; Owanari Duke, Country Director, Empretech Foundation; Innocent Lagi, Attorney General, Nasarawa State; Samuel Ayinde, Director, International Organisation for Youth Advocacy and Development, among other dignitaries from relevant government parastatals, community advocators and companies in the mining and oil and gas sectors.

The theme for the SITEI conference, which is the third in the series, is “Local Content Participation, Accountability and Transparency.” The highly anticipated event will address the challenges of local entrepreneurs, job seekers, policies and critical issues surrounding the implementation of quality local content participation in the Extractive Industries and proffer practical solutions towards improving entrance, accountability and transparency in the sector.

The conference holds on Friday, October 24, 2014, and is organised by CSR-in-Action, a non-profit organisation devoted to the advancement of social ethics, social responsibility and corporate governance in Africa.

According to CSR-in-Action’s Executive Director and Conference Convener, Bekeme Masade, the conference is a call to action for players, aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals in the sector to play more active roles towards better industry practices and a more rewarding experience for all.

“We are hoping the conference would encourage the youths in particular to explore the unique opportunities that abound in the sector in Africa and leverage on the current boom in investments in mining and associated infrastructure. We are also hoping that investors, lenders and bigger companies reduce the entry threshold for healthy competition and the empowerment of the average, focussed citizen,” she enthused.

Speaking further, she added that “We want to see more emphatic commitments by the big players to ensure merit-based increase in local content participation to drive Nigeria’s economic development into the future.”

Mr Esimaje Brikinn, Head, Social Performance and Planning, Chevron Nigeria, in explaining why they decided to support the conference echoed the sentiments of the other sponsors in the room, saying “the Conference theme closely relates to the DNA of Chevron’s activities around Nigerian Content Development”.

The theme of this year’s event is a natural sequel to the successful second SITEI conference, which had as keynote speaker, the former World Bank Vice President for Africa Region, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili. The second edition discussed the need for implementable policies in the sector and produced a convergence of important opinions and contributions on the topic from different stakeholders cutting across private sectors, government representatives and community leaders.

The SITEI event this year is, therefore, expected to address nagging issues that have threatened to stagnate the local content drive, like quality of local content players – vendors, contractors and business men – to play more active and dominant roles in the extractive industries. The conference will feature workshop sessions with stimulating topics for discussion, with a potpourri of sustainable solutions expected to be provided to enforce the message and spirit of the conference, which is geared toward greater local content participation in the extractive industries.

To drive youth and mass participation in entrepreneurship, skills development and in the activities within the Extractive Industries, CSR-in-Action brings a new twist to this year’s SITEI Conference with the introduction of an Essay and Logo Design competition. This competition with the theme “Quality Local Content Participation in the Extractive Industries: Opportunities, Challenges and Solutions” is an opportunity for interested members of the public who have a burning desire to see increased local content in the extractive industries to provide a precise overview of the sector and proffer lasting panacea for all stakeholders. Visit www.csrinaction.org/SITEI2014 to participate and for more details.

To address any health fears with regard to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) currently ravaging some West Africa countries, Executive Director, Bekeme Masade assures conference participants that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure simple and necessary health practices are adhered to at the event to guarantee a hitch-free conference following a partnership with PathCare Nigeria.

Social media audiences will enjoy a live streaming of the key messages and proceedings at the event www.csrinaction.org/SITEI2014. Messages will be available on leading social media platforms and blog sites.

The SITEI Conference 2014 is sponsored by Chevron, Seven Energy, Statoil, Intercontinental Hotel, Nigerian Bottling Company, Zenera Consulting and Oando Marketing; and endorsed by the Nigerian Conservation Fund (NCF) and Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA). Media partners include Inspiration FM, Channels Television, Y Naija, Nigeria Info FM, CNBC, FRCN Radio one Sweet Crude Reports, and African Energy, and Technical partners are Pathcare Laboratories to address health fears and Swift Networks for exclusive Internet Connectivity at the conference.

For further information on sponsorship, partnership, programme and registrations, please visit: www.csrinaction.org/SITEI2014 or contact the Programmes Manager, Ms Yetunde Omoteso at [email protected], [email protected] or call +2348176682294, +2348176682291, +2348176682287.