Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu, has said that the company spent N9 billion on community development projects in Niger Delta area in 2010.Sunmonu, who made the disclosure at a Sustainable Development exhibition in Abuja, said: 'This is one of the biggest corporate social responsibility portfolios operated by a private company in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it shows that we care for the wellbeing of the communities in which we do business.'The event was the first Sustainable Development Partnership Opportunity and Exhibition organised by SPDC in Abuja, and the theme was Powering Progress Together. It brought together government officials, diplomats, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and development organisations who thronged the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Memorial Centre and heard testimonies by beneficiaries of Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU), LiveWIRE, community health and other life-building programmes.Sunmonu added: 'I am excited about today's event because it is the first if its kind for us in Abuja. We know from our work in the Niger Delta, that no single actor can meet the scale, complexity and resources required to respond to the challenges of development in communities.'That is why we have increasingly partnered with other business entities, government agencies, NGOs and community-based organisations to plan and deliver on our social performance commitments to achieve the desired impact and sustainability,' he stated.He cited the GMoU initiative which the company introduced in 2006 as a life-changing opportunity for communities who now choose and implement their projects with funding from SPDC. So far, SPDC, he said, had signed and implemented agreements with 26 clusters, covering 271 communities in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states, explaining that by the end of 2010, a total of 490 projects had been implemented through GMoUs, with more than $65 million provided as funding.The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, in an address, commended SPDC for its GMoU initiative, pointing out that no 'other question preoccupies the minds of the people of the Niger Delta than rapid development.'He said: 'Peace is the bedrock of all development. Therefore, let this forum mark the beginning of a brighter and more hopeful co-operation and prosperity for the Niger Delta region and Nigeria in general.'The Amayanabo of Nembe Kingdom, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, who chaired the occasion, said: 'I've come all the way from Bayelsa State to associate with the success of the GMoU and other programmes, which I wish could be standard for all Nigerian communities.'Beneficiaries who made presentations included Mrs. Shade Aderogba who enjoyed all-year round health care including giving birth under the Community Health Insurance Scheme of IA GMoU Cluster, Mercy Chukwudi and Diana Marcus, who established businesses with LiveWIRE support, as well as Chief I. S. Young-Dede the chairman of Nembe City Development Foundation. Chief Young-Dede, who is also the palace secretary of the Amayanabo of Nembe Kingdom, enthralled the audience with many projects that have been executed including land marine transport, guest house, roads, ICT centre and printing press. He added: 'We've transformed from being a Cluster to a Foundation capable of attracting support from far and near.'Precious Njoku, a young man got trained as a welder under the GMoU programme, and is now gainfully employed in a big construction company in Port Harcourt.
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