By Adagwa Unari

What began as a commitment to bring clean water closer to underserved communities has reached a significant milestone for LG Electronics with the commissioning of its 21st solar-powered borehole at Osan Agba, Oke Oka Akoko, Ondo State.

In Oke Oka Akoko, however, the significance of the intervention is not simply in the number. It is in what reliable access to water means in everyday life: less time spent searching for water, greater convenience for households, improved hygiene and a dependable resource that can serve the wider community.

The new facility extends LG Electronics’ community water initiative into another part of Nigeria, combining access to clean water with renewable energy infrastructure designed to operate independently of the national electricity grid. It also reflects the evolution of the company’s approach to corporate citizenship—from individual interventions to a growing footprint of sustainable community infrastructure built around identified local needs.

At the commissioning, the Akoko South West Local Government Chairman, Hon. Ayọ Ajana, said the intervention demonstrates the value of collaboration between the private sector and communities in addressing practical development needs.

“Water is fundamental to the well-being of every community, and this is the kind of intervention whose impact people can feel every day. What LG Electronics has done in Oke Oka Akoko complements the work of government and shows what responsible private-sector participation in community development can achieve. We welcome this investment, and our responsibility is to ensure that the community takes ownership of it and protects it for the generations that will come after us,” Ajana said.

Hon. Ologunbaba Ruben (Ṣóyọ), the Adedibu of Osan Àgbà Oka, described the facility as an intervention whose value would extend well beyond the commissioning ceremony.

“For us, this is more than the commissioning of a borehole. It is about meeting a need that touches our people every day. Families will use this water, our children will benefit from it, and the entire community has a responsibility to preserve what has been provided. We appreciate LG Electronics for looking beyond the major cities and recognising that communities such as ours also matter,” he said.

Chief Darusa Adedibu, Olugbedere of Igbedere, Osan Àgbà Oka, said the project underscores the importance of bringing development closer to the people.

“Development becomes meaningful when it reaches people where they live. Clean water touches health, hygiene, our homes and the general well-being of the community. We appreciate LG Electronics for bringing this project here. Our responsibility now is to protect it and ensure that it continues to serve everyone,” Adedibu said.

Hon. Ajulo Tayo, Chairman of Udẹ̀ Osan Àgbà Oka, also emphasised the everyday relevance of the project and the need for collective stewardship.

“There are projects people hear about, and there are projects they experience in their daily lives. Water belongs in the second category. This borehole will serve our people every day, and that makes it deeply relevant to this community. Our appreciation to LG Electronics must therefore be matched by our commitment to look after the facility and ensure that its benefits are shared responsibly,” Tayo said.

From One Community to Twenty One

The Oke Oka Akoko commissioning represents the 21st solar-powered borehole delivered by LG Electronics across communities in Nigeria, following the company’s 20th installation in Nariya Rigasa, Kaduna State. The growing programme reflects a deliberate effort to use sustainable technology to address a basic human need while reducing dependence on grid electricity.

For Mr. Hyoung Sub Ji, Managing Director, LG Electronics Nigeria, represented by Mr. Choongbae Seok, General Manager, Media Entertainment Solutions, TV Department, LG Electronics Nigeria, the milestone is significant because of the lives and communities represented by the number.

“Twenty-one communities is an important milestone for us, but the real story is not the number. It is the people behind those twenty-one communities and what reliable access to water can mean to their everyday lives. At LG, we believe innovation has its greatest value when people can feel its impact. Sometimes that is through the technology in their homes; at other times, it means applying technology and our resources to a fundamental need such as clean water,” Seok said.

He added: “The solar-powered model is particularly important because sustainability has been considered from the outset. We are not interested in infrastructure that works only on commissioning day. The objective is to create something relevant, practical and capable of continuing to serve the community. Oke Oka Akoko is another important chapter in that journey.”

By powering the facility with solar energy, LG brings together two dimensions of sustainable development: addressing a basic social need and using renewable energy to support long-term functionality. Just as importantly, the initiative places emphasis on community participation and stewardship, recognising that infrastructure delivers lasting value when the people it serves have a stake in sustaining it.

A borehole can be commissioned in a day. Its real value is measured in the years that follow. From its earlier interventions to Oke Oka Akoko, LG Electronics’ expanding clean-water footprint is turning individual CSR projects into a broader model of community investment where technology, sustainability and local participation meet.

For the people of Osan Agba, the measure is simpler: clean water is now closer to home.

By Sam Otuonye

For most of its history as an oil-producing nation, Nigeria has lived with a paradox that is as costly as it is familiar: abundant crude at the wellhead, and a persistent reliance on foreign refineries to convert that crude into the fuels on which the economy runs.

The Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) believes that paradox is now, at last, becoming solvable, and that retailers have both a commercial interest and a national responsibility in helping to solve it.

It is in this spirit that the National President of PETROAN, Dr. Billy Sotubo Gillis-Harry, led a delegation of the Association’s national executives on an official site inspection and commercial engagement with Azikel Refinery at Obunagha, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

The purpose of the engagement:

The visit forms part of PETROAN’s continuing programme of industry oversight and stakeholder engagement. Its objectives were threefold: to assess, at first hand, the state of emerging domestic refining capacity; to open a structured dialogue with an indigenous refiner on the practical terms of collaboration;and to identify commercially viable arrangements that can improve the availability, reliability and distribution of locally refined petroleum products to Nigerian consumers.

The delegation received a comprehensive presentation on the Azikel Refinery covering its development history, operational planning, refining capacity, product slate and the avenues open for partnership with the retail segment of the value chain.

Towards a structured offtake framework:

Central to the discussions was a proposed structured offtake arrangement under which PETROAN members would access petroleum products directly from the refinery on mutually agreed commercial, technical and operational terms.

The significance of such an arrangement should not be understated. Nigeria’s downstream sector has long been characterised by long and often opaque supply chains,in which the distance between the point of production and the retail forecourt is filled by intermediaries, uncertainty and cost.

A direct relationship between domestic refiners and organised retailers compresses that distance. It gives refiners a predictable, aggregated market for their output, and gives retailers a dependable source of supply insulated, to a meaningful degree, from the volatility of international product markets and foreign exchange. The beneficiary, ultimately, is the consumer.

The Azikel Refinery:

The Azikel Refinery has been re-engineered from its original design capacity of 12,000 barrels per day to a 25,000 barrels-per-day full-slate hydro-skimming facility,configured to process crude oil and condensate into Premium Motor Spirit, automotive gas oil, kerosene, aviation turbine fuel and liquefied petroleum gas. Recent reports indicate that the project has entered an advanced stage of construction and integration following the arrival and installation of its 200-tonne Crude Distillation Unit.

PETROAN regards the emergence of facilities of this kind as a structural, rather than incidental, development. Each additional domestic refinery broadens the national supply base, introduces competition among suppliers, and strengthens the resilience of a downstream sector that has, for too long, been exposed to shocks originating far beyond Nigeria’s borders.

Remarks by the National President:

Speaking during the engagement, Dr. Gillis-Harry reaffirmed PETROAN’s commitment to working with indigenous refiners in building a sustainable and commercially sound domestic petroleum products supply chain. He observed that the growth of local refining capacity presents Nigeria with a genuine and progressive pathway out of import dependence, one that must be pursued deliberately and on terms that are workable for all parties.

“As retailers, we want to build practical partnerships with indigenous refineries thatcanimproveproductavailability,strengthensupplychainsandcreategreatercertaintyfor businesses and consumers,” he said.

He emphasised that PETROAN’s objective is not merely to secure supply for its members, but to establish enduring commercial relationships that are equitable and beneficial to refiners and marketers alike.

Response from Azikel Group:

In his response, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Azikel Group, Dr. Eruani Azibapu Godbless, welcomed the delegation and affirmed the refinery’s readiness to build strategic relationships with petroleum products retailers as the facility advances towards commercial operations.

He underscored that collaboration between refiners and retail outlet owners is indispensable to efficient distribution and to securing market access for locally refined products.

Both parties agreed on the necessity of sustained engagement to resolve the commercial, technical and operational requirements on which the proposed offtake partnership will depend.

A broader strategy:

PETROAN wishes to make clear that its engagement with Azikel is one element of a wider strategy to deepen collaboration with indigenous refineries and with stakeholders across the entire downstream value chain.

The Association holds firmly to the view that Nigeria’s refining future must rest on multiple reliable sources of supply, on transparent market participation, and on constructive collaboration among refiners, marketers, regulators and all who have a stake in the sector’s health. Concentration of supply in any single source, however large, carries its own risks; diversity of supply is the surest guarantee of both competition and security.

As projects such as Azikel move from ambition to operation, PETROAN remains committed to supporting every credible initiative that expands domestic refining capacity, improves product availability, strengthens competition, and contributes to amore stable, sustainable and self-reliant petroleum products market for Nigeria.

How an alumnus of Federal Polytechnic Oko moved from engineering and entrepreneurship to philanthropy, human capital development and community service, writes Ijeoma Nwajiobi

There are moments in a person’s journey when an award is more than just an award. It becomes a pause, an opportunity to look back at the road travelled, the obstacles encountered, the people touched along the way, and the possibilities that lie ahead.

For Amb. Dr. Ikebunwa Fidelis Lotanna, Saturday, September 26, 2026, was one such moment. At a gathering that brought together generations of alumni, academics, public figures, professionals and friends of Federal Polytechnic Oko, Ikebunwa returned to the institution as more than a former student. He returned as a Polytechnic Star, and in the same breath, as an Oko Polymath.

The Federal Polytechnic Oko Alumni Association, celebrating four decades of its existence, honoured him with the prestigious Polytechnic Star Award and inducted him into the Oko Polymath Hall of Fame at a ceremony held at ChyBen Leisure Hotels & Resort, Awka, Anambra State.

The occasion, marked by the “1986–2026” anniversary identity, was a celebration of institutional memory. But for Ikebunwa, it also became a personal reflection on a journey that has taken him considerably beyond the classroom.

A HOMECOMING WITH A DIFFERENCE
For many alumni, returning to an alma mater is an exercise in nostalgia. For Ikebunwa, it was also a moment of recognition. The award citation described him as a distinguished alumnus whose service, achievements and contributions have advanced the development and ideals of Federal Polytechnic Oko.

The honour was presented during an anniversary programme that featured an anniversary lecture, keynote address, goodwill messages, the presentation of the association’s 40th-anniversary commemorative historical book, awards and honours, and an anniversary toast.

For Amb. Ikebunwa, the recognition reflected a journey that has increasingly been expressed through enterprise, education, philanthropy and community development.

THE MAKING OF A POLYMATH
The word “polymath” evokes breadth, a person whose interests, knowledge and activities refuse to remain confined to one discipline. That breadth is central to the profile presented at Ikebunwa’s induction into the Oko Polymath Hall of Fame.

His professional journey has been associated with engineering, lecturing, entrepreneurship and real estate development, while his wider public activities have extended into youth empowerment, humanitarian initiatives and community mobilisation.

It is a trajectory that does not fit neatly into a single professional description. An Engineer, Entrepreneur, Educator,  Philanthropist, Community development advocate, and Public figure.

Each description captures a significant part of his story, but none tells the entire story. The Hall of Fame recognition effectively brings these different strands together under one institutional banner.

WHEN POLITICS DID NOT END THE JOURNEY
Perhaps one of the more revealing chapters of Ikebunwa’s recent public journey is his experience in politics. He contested the House of Representatives primaries for the Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency under the platform of the NDC.

During the primary election, he was regarded by all as the leading contender in the Parties Primaries. However, the exercise became contentious, with allegations of irregularities that affected the outcome and denied him the party ticket, but the political chapter did not become the end of his public engagement.

Instead, Ikebunwa increasingly turned his attention towards a different form of public participation, one focused less on electoral contests and more on human capital and community development. That shift has found expression in scholarships, support for startups and new businesses, and assistance to vulnerable members of society.

His interventions have extended across Nnewi North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo Local Government Areas, as well as other parts of Anambra State. The philosophy behind these interventions is rooted in his belief that development is ultimately about people.

To Ikebunwa, a scholarship can alter the direction of a young person’s life. Capital can help keep a small business alive. Support can give an entrepreneur the confidence to expand, while assistance to a vulnerable family can help restore dignity at a difficult moment.

It is through these seemingly individual interventions that Ikebunwa’s post-political chapter has increasingly taken shape.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE
In an era when public conversations about development often revolve around roads, buildings and physical infrastructure, the less visible investment in human beings can easily be overlooked. Yet education, enterprise and opportunity remain among the foundations upon which communities can build sustainable futures.

Ikebunwa’s recent philanthropic activities have therefore centred substantially on people, students requiring educational assistance, entrepreneurs seeking support, young people looking for opportunities, and vulnerable members of communities in need of help.

His scholarship interventions have provided educational support, while funding and assistance to startups and businesses have sought to create or preserve economic opportunities.

These activities have become an important component of the public profile surrounding his name. They also provide context for the Hall of Fame description of him as a personality associated with entrepreneurship, leadership and service.

THE 40-YEAR OKO POLY STORY
The timing of the honour could hardly have been more symbolic. The Federal Polytechnic Oko Alumni Association was not simply celebrating another anniversary. It was marking 40 years, 1986 to 2026.

Four decades provide enough time for an institution to accumulate stories: stories of students who arrived with dreams, graduates who built careers, entrepreneurs who created businesses, academics who shaped minds, and professionals who carried the name of their alma mater into different corners of society.

The anniversary programme sought to capture some of that history through the presentation of the commemorative publication, “Oko Polymaths.” The book, presented as part of the anniversary activities, chronicles aspects of the institution’s alumni history and achievements. It was against this backdrop that Ikebunwa’s induction became even more significant.

He was not being recognised in isolation. His name was being placed within a broader institutional story, the continuing story of what graduates of Federal Polytechnic Oko have gone on to accomplish.

A LEGACY STILL IN MOTION
There is an interesting irony in celebrating a journey while it is still unfolding. Legacy is usually discussed in the past tense, but Ikebunwa’s story is still being written.

His transition from political participation to a greater emphasis on philanthropy and human capital development suggests a public journey that continues to evolve.

The scholarships, business support, startup interventions and assistance to vulnerable people represent one chapter. The Polytechnic Star Award and Oko Polymath Hall of Fame now form another.

The significance of September 26, 2026, lies precisely there. It was the day an alumnus returned to the community from which part of his journey began and received institutional recognition for the road he has travelled since.

THE ROAD AHEAD
For Federal Polytechnic Oko, its 40th anniversary is ultimately about continuity, preserving the memories of the past while looking towards the future.

For Ikebunwa, the twin honours offer a similar reflection. The road has moved through engineering and entrepreneurship, education and real estate, politics and philanthropy, professional pursuits and community engagement.

There have been ambitions, setbacks, reinventions and new directions. Yet the thread running through the different chapters has remained an interest in people, enterprise and development.

On September 26, beneath the lights of an anniversary celebration in Awka, the Federal Polytechnic Oko Alumni Association placed a formal seal of recognition on that journey.

For Amb. Ikebunwa, the Polytechnic Star Award and induction into the Oko Polymath Hall of Fame now form part of a continuing story, one whose next chapter is still being written.