Oil Company Tasks SMEs on Succession Plan

• Oil Company Tasks SMEs on Succession Plan

Concerned by the high rate of collapse of small and medium scale businesses Nigeria, the management of Italian oil giant, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has resolved to focus on developing and building of capacities in the sectors as well as community content and sustainability.

Speaking on Tuesday, in Asaba, Delta State, at the 2016 Succession Planning Workshop for Small and Medium Scale Vendors, the Vice Chairman/Managing Director of the oil company, Massimo Insulla, explained that the initiative was designed to equip owners, partners, proprietors and management of small/medium sized enterprise with skills and best practices in planning for the continuity and sustainability of their businesses when the owner quits either by way of incapacitation or retirement or old age.

Insulla explained that the workshop aims at acquainting the participants with typical Nigerian SMEs continuity challenges, case studies of successful transition, pre requisites for succession planning, ownership versus management, insights into family business and managing the transition.

Besides pioneering the Independent Power Project (IPP) in Nigeria with the construction of a power plant at Okpai, Ndokwa East Local Council of Delta State and delivery of 480MW of power into the national grid to stimulate the economy and create jobs, he said that Agip is promoting other Nigerian content development and corporate social responsibilities initiatives.

The Italian said: “We are leaders in the areas of access to energy, water, health, education, social infrastructure (roads, markets, community centres etc), employment and human capacity building, skills acquisition, micro credits and access to food through our agricultural programme (Green River Project which started in 1987). We are proud to note that our footprints are quite visible in all our hosts’ communities in the states where we operate including Delta.”

Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa explained that the workshop is a unique approach to corporate social responsibility with the potential of revolutionising the SMEs landscape in Nigeria.

According to Okowa, the subject of succession planning is one that is at the very core of the growth and survival of small and medium scale enterprises, regretting that Nigeria’s small and medium scale enterprises rarely outlive their founders because of the absence of
succession planning.

He said: “Succession plan is a process of identifying, selecting, training, equipping and preparing new leaders who will take over the running of the company when the owner/founder has quit the stage through retirement, incapacitation or death, The workshop is a strong affirmation of Agip’s passion and commitment to assist in developing the economy for the benefit of present and future generations of Nigerians.”

The governor lamented that it was cause for great concern that most small and medium scale businesses go under when their owners quit, a situation which exacerbate the high unemployment rate, noting that the situation should be reversed.