Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Managing Director/CEO of First Exploration and Petroleum Dev. Company Limited will be the Keynote Speaker at this year’s 20th Annual Aret Adams Memorial lecture series slated for 6th July, 2023 at the Muson Centre (Agip Recital Hall), Marina, Onikan, Lagos. The event will start by 11.00 am prompt.
The theme for the annual lecture is tagged “Critical Actions To Revive Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry For National Development”
According to the Programs Manager of Aret Adams Foundation, Mr. Akin Jokojeje, said other seasoned professional, technocrat and experts in Oil and Gas sector billed to give talk on the topic as Panellists are: Mr. Osa Igieho, Chief Executive Officer, Heirs Holdings Oil & Gas Limited as well as Mr. Austin Avuru, Executive Chairman, AA Holdings.
As expected, major players and stakeholders in the Oil and Gas industry, financial institutions, manufacturing as well as captains of industries are expected at the event.
He said that the Foundation was established in honour of the late Chief Godwin Aret Adams, the first Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (1988 to 1990), who later became the Special Adviser on Petroleum Resources to former Head of State, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar (rtd) in1998, adding that Aret Adams made outstanding contributions toward the growth of Nigeria’s Oil & Gas industry and the nation’s economy in general.
The Foundation, Mr. Jokojeje said is aimed at promoting and building educational capacity and policy formulations. He disclosed that the National Energy policy delivered to the Federal government in April 1980 was formulated by the late Aret Adams and that it was him that re-energized negotiations that led to the successful execution of shareholders agreements for the execution of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project in 1989 and many others.
He went further to reveal that the Foundation has institutionalized the Aret Adams Professorial Chairs at the University of Port Harcourt in collaboration with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
In addition, the Late Chief Aret Adams was a Geologist per excellence during his life time and an alumnus of the University of Ibadan. This has propelled the Foundation to be giving scholarship awards to the best selected Post Graduate students in Geology of the University of Ibadan on yearly basis to assist them in the pursuit of their M.sc degree programmes. As at the last counts, over twenty individuals have benefited from this scholarship awards,
Also giving an insight into the forthcoming annual lecture, the Chief Host of the event and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Engr, Charles Osezua OON, KSG noted that Chief Aret Adams left behind legacy of excellence and transparency in government transactions, development through market growth, good business value, free market competition and many more, which have reflected in many lives he touched, irrespective of tribe or religion affiliations while he was alive. It was these sterling virtues and ideals that motivated few colleagues and associates of him to establish the Foundation in 2003 to propagate and sustain the life-long dreams of the late Godwin Aret Adams”.
The BOT Chairman also revealed that the topic for this year’s lecture is aimed at coming up with practical steps to be taken by the government to reposition Oil & Gas industry for optimum performance, stem the tide of ‘Oil theft’ in order to place the sector on the path of growth and development.
