The profile of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited (IEPL), Port
Harcourt in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is quite
remarkable. In fact, it has made tremendous impact in its six
communities namely Akpajo, Njuru / Akpakpan, Okerewa , Aleto,
Agbonchia and Elelenwo, as well as other 34 pipeline communities.
The company has successfully signed and implemented three Memorandums
of Understanding (MOUs) in 2007, 2011 and 2013, which provided overall
framework of engagement between the company and the communities.
According to Dr Jossy Nkwocha, Head of Corporate Communications of the
company, Indorama’s biggest impact in the six host communities is the
allotment of 7.5% shares, which has put more than N14 billion in the
hands of the people since 2012. This has greatly empowered the people
financially to build houses, pay children’s school fees, live the good
life, among others.
Although a section of the host communities’ youths protested last week
demanding that the dividends be paid directly to them instead of Elano
Investment, the holding company, the 7.5% shares remain a unique
initiative in empowering host communities in the Niger Delta area.
Specific projects handled by the company for the communities include
building a Community Secondary School at Aleto community. The
facilities include 12 classrooms, a library, laboratories, staff
rooms, Principal’s office, sick-bay, etc. The school was recently
handed over to the community by the Management of Indorama.
Others CSR initiatives of the company include annual scholarship
scheme for indigent indigenes of the host communities, pipeline
communities and other areas of Eleme; renovation of Eleme General
Hospital and donation of medical equipment worth over N80 million to
the hospital; 33KVA Power sub-station at Akpajo to enhance rural
electrification of the area and construction of Police station for
Elelenwo.
According to Dr Nkwocha, the projects also include road projects for
Agbonchia, Njuru and Okerewa communities; building of new 6-classroom
block for Omoku community, one of the pipeline communities; building
of new 6-classroom block for Uju community, one of the pipeline
communities as well as micro-credit scheme for women in the
communities, which is meant for poverty alleviation and women
empowerment, especially for the widows.
In the area of job creation, Indorama-Nigeria employs about 3,000
direct employees in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and Kano
offices. It also engages about 4,500 indirect construction workers and
others doing ancillary services through contractors, suppliers,
transporters, among others.
A greater number of jobs are also created as Indorama supplies
petrochemicals raw materials to the plastics and allied industries and
through the fertilizer value chain as Indorama supplies Urea to about
20 million Nigerian farmers across the country. “In the past ten
years, our impact on employment in Nigeria is very huge,” says Dr
Nkwocha.
Indorama has extended its CSR beyond the host communities. In 2014, it
sponsored the international conference of the University of Port
Harcourt aimed at harnessing the enormous oil & gas potential of the
Niger Delta region. In July 2015, Indorama contributed 530 million to
rehabilitate the Eleme-Onne Federal Highway, which was impassable at
the time. In November, 2016, the company donated a set of 79
high-quality seat-fitted steel tables to the Nigeria Navy Basic
School, Onne.
Indorama-Nigeria is indeed making its mark in CSR, which it regards as
a worthy corporate social investment. Experts believe that Indorama’s
excellent relations with the host communities account to a large
extent the peaceful atmosphere that attends its operations and
underlines its success story.
On 9th November, 2016, the Senate Committee on Privatisation &
Commercialization visited Indorama-Nigeria as part of its routine
oversight function. Mr Munish Jindal, CEO of Indorama Fertilizer, who
stood in for the Managing Director of Indorama-Nigeria, Mr. Manish
Mundra listed a myriad of socio-economic benefits that the Company has
bequeathed to Nigeria since it acquired the old Eleme Petrochemicals
in 2016.