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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎As part of elaborate celebrations marking her 40tth anniversary, Starzs Investments Company Ltd (SICL), Wednesday, embarked on a campaign for environmental sanity and sustainability, beginning with planting of trees in some schools within her areas of operation.
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‎SICL also collaborated with  the Rivers State chapter of the Nigerian Environment Society to inaugurate school clubs whose mandate is to work towards protecting the environment through planting trees and promoting overall cleanliness even beyond the immediate environment of different schools.
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‎Schools that received waste plastic bags, trees for planting and other relevant materials from the Company to give teeth to this campaign effort included Government Boys’ Secondary School, Elelenwo and Government Community Boys’ Secondary School, Elelenwo. Others were Community Boys’ Junior Secondary School, Elelenwo,  Community Girls’ Secondary School, Elelenwo, and the Government Secondary School, Onne.
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‎Infrastructural upgrade was the major focus at Government Secondary School, Onne and the Community Secondary School, Ogu in Ogu-Bolo Local Government where SICL inaugurated rehabilitated classrooms fitted with new chairs, tables, whiteboards, etc.  The Company commissioned a giant solar-powered borehole at Ogu- Bolo alongside a befitting male and female school toilets for use by students.
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‎The General Secretary of the Rivers State chapter of the NES Dr Olowu Emmanuel, delivered a talk on the importance of a good environment followed by an exhortation by the Principal, Dr Alfred Wosa.
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‎The event recorded an impressive excitement from the students and teachers who saw it as a new beginning in a committed effort to uplift the environmental and infrastructural standard of the schools involved by the Starzs Investments Company Ltd.
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‎Frank Loveday, a chieftain of the Rivers State chapter of the Nigerian Environmental Society also inaugurated the Students’ Environmental Club of the schools.
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‎He said: “I hereby inaugurate the Environmental Club of these schools, Government Boys’ Secondary School, Elelenwo, Government Community Boys’ Secondary School, Elelenwo, Community Boys’ Secondary School (Junior), Elelenwo, and Community Girls’ Secondary School, Elelenwo”.
‎By way of motivation, cash prizes were given to some students among which were DaGogo Destiny and Christopher Godwin. Others were Umor Samuel and Philip John.
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‎Frank Loveday charged the students to see themselves as leaders of tomorrow who must show exceptional interest in protecting the environment.
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‎”If I say ‘NES’, your response is: Act, Think, Sustainable Environment!'” he tasked them and the response was spontaneous.
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‎He thanked the STARZS Group, an indigenous company fully and sincerely impacting the nation’s waters, for moving upland, to protect even the land, explaining that if the land environment is not protected and sustained, there could be dire consequences.
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‎He described the Nigerian Environmental Society as a non-profit-making organization, comprising pure-minded professionals who, over the years, have taken time to develop themselves on environmental issues.
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‎”As you know, the environment is our mainstay; it is our home. Everything we’re going to be doing, and we have been doing, and we’ll be doing, is actually packaged on this bed as the envelope that is housing us. And it is our core responsibility not only to be a watchdog, but to be participatory professionals by way of contributing our part and our quota in activities and actions that will help, not only to sustain, but also to manage the environment.
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‎”It is on the premise of that, that we are here today to do this programme. And we are doing it in conjunction with the STARZS Investment Company and Marine. This is an indigenous group that has, since 1986 or thereabouts, been on marine activities.
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‎”They have shown distinction, and I must emphasize distinction, in the way their activities have been carried.” Others should emulate the company, he counselled.
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‎Speaking on the need to maintain a safe environment, Mr Adeyi Adeniyi, Starzs Deputy Managing Director, assured that the Company would continue to support and promote environmental protection and sustainability.
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‎Recalling the old image of Port Harcourt as a garden city, he explained that aside protecting man from the harshness of the sun, houses against the winds, trees also provide oxygen while filtering away carbon dioxide.
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‎”There is something we do, as an organization. Basically, we go for trees that are medicinal, or of medicinal value; and of trees that are of economic value.
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‎”However, please note too, that the essence of our strategy is to ensure that while we are providing the economic value, we are also providing oxygen, we are protecting the environment, and we are also beautifying the environment.
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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎As Starzs Investments Company Ltd revels in her 40th anniversary celebration, her
‎host communities in Rivers State remain upbeat, pouring encomium on the establishment and her enduring corporate social responsibility. They express commitment to nurture the Company’s goodwill which stands to positively rewrite the story of their people.
‎These communities include Eleme, Onne, Rumuadolor, maritime training institutions,etc.
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‎Mr. Bright Ngolo, the Onne CDC Secretary who represented the CDC Chairman and Andrew Jiala the Crown Prince of Onne community representing the Royal Palace and the community, applauded SICL’s good intentions,  stressing that it would surely put smiles on the faces of both the direct beneficiaries and the entire Community.
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‎”If there is anything that makes me happy, it’s to see the smiles on the faces of my people. When you see their smiles, you also, as a community, will be happy. So, anything that makes them happy also makes me happy.
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‎”I want to say Onne is one of your host communities and a very peaceful host community. I believe that you enjoy a very cordial relationship with Onne as one of your hosts. And I assure you that what you are doing today,  we are very excited about it.”
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‎”I don’t know the numbers of persons that will be empowered today. But I want to assure you that your relationship with Onne will still continue to cordial.
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‎”We are very grateful for honoring our youths by giving them skills. Because if there is anything any youth needs, it’s the skills. You can’t go in life without a special skill.
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‎”So, we are very honored. Thank you and God bless you.”
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‎In the same vein, Elvis Aguma, the Youths President of the Rumuadolu Community thanked the STARZS management for their past and present community programme.
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‎”We are pleased and honored for this program that you organized today. It is a state-of-the-art program. And over the years, that you have had investments in Rumuadolu, it has been a very good cordial relationship between us. And with this that you are currently doing, we are also going to reciprocate further.
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‎For the Ogu Community, the STARZS Group has actually been a huge economic blessing. Chief Fidelis Opouye who put this in words while speaking for Chief Taripaka Gbobbo Amos consequently commended the company.
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‎”We have come to see that this establishment started with good footing. You have been very cordial, very fair to all the youths who have been here. Sometimes ago, not in this hall, somewhere else, they were invited. I was also there. And I made a speech last year.
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‎”So, we, as a community, when we see progress, when we see people reaching out to meet our needs, we encourage them. We build the platform for them to operate. And we don’t want to stop their operations”, he said, stressing that skills acquisition will change their lives permanently.
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‎”We will continue to be careful and cordial. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you!” he stressed!
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‎Aside from the community leaders and the management staff of the STARZS Group, Nnamdi Amadi, the Charkins Registrar and Thlawur Dunya – Coordinator Academic Affairs representing the Rector,  were also present.
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‎Speaking in the same vein, Elvis Aguma, the Youths President of the Rumuadolu Community thanked the STARZS management for their past and present community programme.
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‎”We are pleased and honored for this program that you organized today. It is a state-of-the-art program. And over the years, that you have had investments in Rumuadolu, it has been a very good cordial relationship between us. And with this that you are currently doing, we are also going to reciprocate further.
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‎For the Ogu Community, the STARZS Group has actually been a huge economic blessing. Chief Fidelis Opouye who put this in words while speaking for Chief Taripaka Gbobbo Amos consequently commended the company.
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‎”We have come to see that this establishment started with good footing. You have been very cordial, very fair to all the youths who have been here. Sometimes ago, not in this hall, somewhere else, they were invited. I was also there. And I made a speech last year.
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‎”So, we, as a community, when we see progress, when we see people reaching out to meet our needs, we encourage them. We build the platform for them to operate. And we don’t want to stop their operations”, he said, stressing that skills acquisition will change their lives permanently.
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‎”We will continue to be careful and cordial. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you!” he stressed!
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‎Aside from the community leaders and the management staff of the STARZS Group, Nnamdi Amadi, the Charkins Registrar and Thlawur Dunya – Cordinator Academic Affairs representing the Rector,  were also present.
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‎In the meantime, the Managing Director of the Diopter Technology, a key partner in the training scheme, Emmanuel Ugwumba has emphasized that the present course of action will bring light to the families of the beneficiaries.
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‎Recalling the experience from his village, he also highlighted that anybody with a good training record will want to recreate such value to other individuals .
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‎”When STARS came up with this, I just understood the culture of the company. The culture, reflects a lot from their core values. They also have respect for good results”, he said, tasking the beneficiaries to genuinely appreciate the wonderful opportunities the Company was offering them.
‎Host Communities Pour Encomiums As STARZS Dole Out Scholarship To 40 Youths
‎Eleme, Rumuadolor, others acknowledge the Special Skills Acquisition programme would positively change their lives.
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‎In his intervention, Head of Human Resources of the Starzs Group,Tari Agiobu says Monday’s celebration of special Corporate Social Responsibility is a reflection of SICL’s enduring partnership with host communities and other stakeholders including  maritime institutions.
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‎”We’re going to be equipping members of our host communities with skills that we believe will empower them and subsequently empower their communities down the line”, Tari Agiobu pledged.
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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎Eleme, Rumuadolor and other
‎host communities of the area of operation of Starzs Investments Co Ltd (SICL), Monday, expressed delight that the company’s Skills Acquisition programme would positively change communities’ lives in the long run.
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‎The week-long 40th anniversary celebration activities continued on Monday in Port Harcourt with the Managing Director, Iroghama Ogbeifun formally flagging off a Special Skills Acquisition and Maritime Education programme, beginning with scholarship to 40 beneficiaries.
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‎At the Monday segment, the  SICL boss  stressed that the beneficiaries of the scheme must cut across both the males and females gender from the four host communities because her organisation is gender-sensitive.
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‎Four out of the 40 slots are granted to both the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, Oron and the Charkin Maritime School, two tertiary maritime institutions, two slots each; while the remaining 36 slots would provide relevant vocational training.
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‎”We must see our nation advance, with a mindset that every aspect of the society is represented”, the Starzs CEO stressed, adding that if the representatives of the communities could not come up with qualified girl-children in mind, she would personally go the extra mile, to ensure it.
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Engr Greg Ogbeifun, Chairman, Starz Group

‎”If you are picking a pool of 40 people, and you are not able to find 2, 3, 4, 10, 15 females, then we have done an injustice. We have done such an abomination”, she pointed out, highlighting that the organization is trying to give back to the society, a replica of what the Chairman and founder, Engr. Greg Utonwem Ogbeifun enjoyed and ultimately changed his life for good.
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‎”Our chairman is a product of such programs. He was trained by Shell on scholarship”, Iroghama Ogbeifun said.
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‎Speaking on the theme: ‘Transforming Lives, 40 Years On’, the Managing Director said the initial idea of providing leverages and privileges to top class cadets of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, had failed to factor-in the youths of their hosts community, hence the need for the additional measures.
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‎The courses and skills which were Electrical Instrumentation, Welding and Fabrication, and HVAC, which is Air Conditioning and Systems were deliberately chosen to ensure that beneficiaries would not only become highly marketable, but in fact, a sought- after.
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‎”So we’re going to be training 40 people in these three areas of specialization. These 40 people will be drawn from the four communities”, the CEO said, launching it in the presence of the institution that will be carrying out their training.
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‎”So it’s my pleasure to officially announce the award for the commencement of training. And this award will take effect immediately, once all the necessary processes are in place.
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‎She explained that even the choice of the skills for acquisition were deliberately made to ensure that beneficiaries would not remain the same again, either by being able to further run in their career paths, or become somebody commercially, and relevantly desired, immediately.
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‎She recalled that a similar skill / course actually enabled the Chairman the opportunity to chart a career path, even before he actually became an engineer, and then went on to work internationally before he became an engineer, over 40 years ago.
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‎”So for me, I’m very proud to start with human capacity development. And this is the first time that I’m really doing a strong skills acquisition. So it’s actually like a pilot course.
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‎She thanked Emmanuel Ugwumba, a key partner and Managing Director of Diopter Technologies,  for anchoring such a mutually- beneficial skills acquisition scheme, following his background story on the core benefits of a functional organisation’s assistance to their host communities in terms of human capacity development.
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‎”I am definitely looking at a long-term partnership, between my organization and his organization. I also want to speak again about why we chose those three areas. You know, I’ve been in the industry for more than 10 years.
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‎”And I see lots of companies do skills acquisition. And it’s almost like a box-ticking exercise. Just so that the community will see that.  It doesn’t mean that if you train some people, it should be all about gathering people for one random training, without any reasonable thinking.
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‎”The question should be, when you finish the training, or acquiring the skills, then what next? To my team, I said today, we must look at our main points. And as operators within the industry, I can tell you, based on feedbacks, where the gaps are in the industry!
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‎”I’m just giving you an example so that if you have chosen to do the training, you will also keep that in mind. That there is a potential opportunity.
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‎”So, the intention is, after the training, you will tell us some sort of the start-up plan, including if beneficiaries would have starter packs or tools that they will need”, the MD stated, highlighting that whatever would be required, to guarantee high productivity or self reliance for beneficiary, after training would be considered.
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‎The company said it had done it’s survey, to identify areas that are very specialized, and where there are not so many people in business, areas where few people possessed the requisite skills.
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‎The company obviously intends to assist host communities based on insider knowledge of those operating ships, rigs and other movable and immovable assets.
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