The NNPC/Seplat joint venture has equipped 127 teachers and education evaluators with digital teaching techniques and alternative income-generation skills.

The beneficiaries received training through the Seplat Teachers Empowerment Programme, with the first Imo cohort graduating in Owerri.

Seplat’s director of external affairs and social performance, Chioma Afe, disclosed this at the graduation ceremony on Sunday.

Ms Afe said STEP strengthens teachers’ professional development. She added that the programme also seeks to make teachers economically resourceful while creating lasting impact in their communities.

Ms Afe said the joint venture’s education investment reflected its belief that empowering teachers remained an effective way to transform communities. She said STEP had previously been implemented in Edo and Delta, where more than 2,000 teachers had been trained.

Ms Afe added that the Imo edition represented the programme’s first intervention in the state and urged the graduating teachers to see their certificates as the beginning of greater responsibility and leadership in their communities.

Ms Afe said, “Take the digital skills you have acquired into your classrooms, share your knowledge with fellow teachers, encourage your students to learn, explore and innovate.”

She said the students would ultimately measure the programme’s success by the number of inspired colleagues, supported colleagues, and communities influenced by the beneficiaries.

Olanrewaju Igandan, chief Upstream investment officer of NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services, described teachers as “critical channels for knowledge transfer to younger generations”.

Governor Hope Uzodimma urged beneficiaries to influence their students positively. He thanked Seplat and NNPC for the initiative and urged the teachers to embody STEP’s motto, ‘Teach. Inspire. Transform’.

Choice Nwachukwu emerged overall winner after presenting a concept on antiseptic production, scoring 432 points and receiving ₦500,000.

Obinna Anele, who presented unripe plantain flour, placed second with 425 points and received a ₦300,000 grant.

Golden Ezekwe, whose business concept focused on braiding, placed third with 421 points and received ₦200,000.