Firm inaugurates classroom block, town hall, others in Rivers communities
Leading indigenous oil company, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, has inaugurated community development projects across Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State to advance its post oil-spill engagement strategy and
Leading indigenous oil company, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, has inaugurated community development projects across Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State to advance its post oil-spill engagement strategy and commitment to host community development.
The projects, unveiled in Aleto Clan, comprised a newly-built one-storey, 12-classroom block with furnished offices and desks at Community Secondary School, Agbonchia; a 200-seat ultra-modern town hall in Akpajo and the upgrade of Community School, Aleto with backup power, repainting and ICT installations.
Others were the desilting of a four-kilometre dual drainage system in Aleto to improve flood control, as well as electricity upgrades and installation of 300 prepaid meters in Okerewa community.
Speaking at the event, the Vice-President, Relations and Sustainable Development, Renaissance Africa Energy, Dr. Igo Weli, said the projects were delivered under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Aleto Clan in August 2024 following the June 11, 2023 oil spill on the Nkpoku–Bomu pipeline.
He disclosed that six projects were agreed under the goodwill grant, with four now completed and two electrification projects at various stages of execution.
Weli noted that the company adopted a collaboration-driven approach to community relations, leveraging stakeholder support to deliver tangible development.
“I am glad to inform us that four of these six projects have been completed, while two electrification projects are at different stages of implementation,” he said.
Weli added that Renaissance’s long-term vision was anchored on advancing energy security and industrialisation through responsible and sustainable operations.
He urged stakeholders to sustain transparent partnerships.
Weli said: “I am glad to inform us that four of these six projects have been completed, while two electrification projects are at different stages of implementation.
“With the projects that we are unveiling today, very well delivered too, I can speak with even more confidence that this is indeed the strategy that better benefit our people and communities.”
The King of Eleme, Philip Obele, commended the company for its departure from the legacy of extractive operations toward a more inclusive and community-focused model.
He observed that oil exploration in Eleme, which began in 1958 under the Shell Petroleum Development Company, had historically yielded limited benefits for host communities, but noted a marked improvement in engagement over the past three years.
The monarch raised concerns over the lack of potable water in the area, attributing it to pollution from oil activities, and urged the company to prioritise sustainable water supply.
He also called on beneficiaries to protect and maintain the facilities to ensure long-term impact, expressing optimism that the projects would catalyse sustained development in Eleme.
Obele said: “However, even as we celebrate, we must speak of our pressing needs. Though you have given us these projects, like Oliver Twist, we are calling upon the Renaissance management to assist the host communities in the provision of potable and sustainable water.
“Since our only source of fresh water that served the community was badly impacted during the oil spillage, securing a clean water supply is a fundamental necessity to restore the standard of living the people deserve.
“My advice to the beneficiary communities is that the projects should be jealously and religiously protected and sustained, as the saying goes, to whom much is given, much is expected. Let these gifts flourish under your care.”
Also speaking, Igwe Oforji, the lawmaker representing Eleme at the State House of Assembly, who was the chairman of the event to unveil the projects in Agbonchia, commended the firm for remediating their environment.
He said when the spill happened in 2023, the King of Eleme constituted a committee to ensure positive action, adding that the move was the beginning of the success.
He said: “In August 2023, we had a massive spill in Aleto. When the spill occurred, there were calls that we should liaise with the management of SPDC then. We reached out to the management of Shell then but nothing much happened.
“When Renaissance came on board we came for assessment and they said they would do the needful. Discussion then started even with the House Committee.
“We resolved that there is no need to take the matter in court. We dialogued. The Renaissance did assessment of the spill site and today has concluded the remediation.”
He said the firm remediated 4000 square metres of shorelines and a vast arable land, even as he said all the oil recovered from the polluted sites were moved out of the community to appropriate quarters.
