NEPL/Seplat JV commissions STEAM labs, trains 500 Delta teachers

The NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL)/Seplat Energy Joint Venture has handed over two fully equipped Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEM) laboratories to the Delta State Government as part of its sustained investment in education.

The laboratories, located at Asagba Mixed Secondary School and Zappa Basic Secondary School in Asaba, are designed to promote practical, creative and student-centered learning.

The Joint Venture also trained an additional 500 teachers across Delta State in contemporary STEAM-based teaching skills.

Speaking during the recent inauguration, Seplat Energy’s Director of External Affairs and Social Performance, Chioma Afe, said the initiatives reflected the partners’ commitment to investing in the next generation through quality education.

Represented by the General Manager, Corporate Social Investment and Social Performance, Esther Icha, he said the laboratories would enable students to move beyond theory to experimentation, design, creativity and problem-solving.

“Through these laboratories, our students will not only learn theories; they will experiment, design, create, test ideas and build real confidence to solve real-life problems,” she said.

Afe informed the latest intervention had increased the number of STEAM laboratories supported by the Joint Venture in Delta to seven.

Delta Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, represented by the Commissioner for Secondary Education, Dr Kingsley Ashibuogwu, commended Seplat Energy for its sustained investment in education.

Ashibuogwu urged the beneficiary schools and students to make effective use of the facilities.

He assured them that security measures, including CCTV surveillance and links with relevant security agencies, had been put in place to protect them.

Member representing Oshimili South Constituency in the Delta House of Assembly, Bridget Anyafulu, also commended the Joint Venture for its educational interventions, including the PEARLs Quiz.

She said the laboratories would promote practical learning and improve learning outcomes, stressing that investment in education is a long-term investment in peace and prosperity.

The Principal of Asagba Mixed Secondary School, Asaba, Stella Ajufo, expressed appreciation to the state government and Seplat Energy, assuring them that the facility would be properly utilised and maintained.

She said seven teachers from the school had participated in the Joint Venture’s STEP workshop and were trained on the use of the laboratory equipment.

At the onboarding ceremony for the 500 teachers, Afe, represented by Seplat Energy’s Senior Manager, Brands, Sponsorship and PR, Emmanuel Otokhine, described teachers as critical to the success of any education model.

“If we want to change the trajectory of our students, we must first invest in their teachers,” she said.

She said the training was designed to equip teachers with skills to respond to changing curricula, technology and teaching methods, while the inclusion of Arts would promote creativity, design and critical thinking.

The 2026 interventions, she said, underscored the NEPL/Seplat JV’s continued commitment to teacher development and practical learning infrastructure to improve learning outcomes and equip students with skills for the future.

End.