Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), operator of the NNPC/CNL Joint Venture, recently added another feather to its cap as it bagged the oil and gas company award for the best company in Media Relations and Support.
The award was presented to the company at the recent Energie Platform Lecture and Award organized by D’Alphaxristi Limited, a media/business development outfit at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. It was presented by a Deputy Director in the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) Mrs. Pat Maseli and received on behalf of the company by Mr. Victor Anyaegbudike, the External Communications Coordinator, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, (PGPA).
In their citation, the organizers noted that the award was presented to CNL in recognition of its contribution to the sustenance of effective media relations and contribution to media capacity development in Nigeria. The award followed a rigorous process of entry submission by different oil/gas companies and transparent authentication by an independent consultant, Energy Compliance Limited (ECL).
Speaking on the award, Mr. Esimaje Brikinn, the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs (PGPA) noted that the company values the role of the mass media in setting the agenda for public discourses and moulding public opinion on variety of critical issues.
“It is our practice to partner with relevant stakeholders (including of course, the media) and as a responsible organization, we have initiated and continued to implement programmes that aim at building the capacity of our media stakeholders to effectively discharge their journalistic duties,” he explained.
He mentioned some of these programmers as the Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (AWARES) enhancement programme been implemented in partnership with the Pan Atlantic University and other partnership initiatives such as the capacity building programmes for media correspondents in the States constituting the areas of our operations in the Niger Delta region.
Mr. Brikinn noted that since the inception of the AWARES programme in 2012, over 80 journalists from the print and broadcast media have participated in the programme adding that many of the participants attest to the value-addition of the programme in honing their writing skills as well as their proficiency in research and critical thinking.