The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta has announced the signing of a N1.2bn partnership with Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc to promote peace, prosperity, and sustainable development in the company’s host communities in Edo State.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued by PIND on Monday.
“The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta and Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc have signed a landmark N1.2bn partnership agreement to drive peacebuilding, livelihood improvement, and inclusive development across OOPC’s host communities in Edo State,” the statement read.
It said the agreement builds on a three-year Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2024 and strengthened by a new project-specific deal for 2026.
According to the statement, the initiative is aimed at driving peacebuilding, improving livelihoods, and deepening inclusive growth in Okomu’s host communities as part of the firm’s long-term corporate social responsibility.
“At Okomu, we believe sustainable business must go hand in hand with shared prosperity,” the Managing Director of Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc, Dr Graham Hefer, was quoted as saying.
“This partnership with PIND reinforces our commitment to peace, partnership, and the well-being of our host communities through long-term, measurable impact.”
The 2026 CSR programme, PIND said, would address development gaps identified through a joint community needs assessment.
It will focus on peacebuilding and conflict prevention, market systems development, access to finance, renewable energy, and youth skills development.
Under the plan, community dialogue platforms will be strengthened, peace monitors trained, and early warning systems established to prevent local conflicts.
About 3,000 smallholder farmers will also benefit from improved agricultural practices and better market linkages.
In addition, the partnership will promote access to finance for small and medium-scale businesses through financial literacy initiatives and a loan guarantee scheme.
It will also support the deployment of a pilot solar mini-grid to power schools and health centres in the communities.
To tackle youth unemployment, a model Technical and Vocational Education and Training centre will be set up to train 60 young people in tailoring and the production of protective coveralls for Okomu’s operations.
PIND’s Executive Director, Mr Sam Ogbemi Daibo, said the partnership demonstrated the power of collaboration between the private sector and development organisations to transform local communities.
“This partnership embodies what we call ‘development through shared value’. Together with Okomu, we are not only delivering social investment but building local capacity, peace, and self-reliance, the real foundations of resilience,” Daibo said in the statement.
A joint steering committee made up of representatives from PIND and Okomu Oil will oversee the project to ensure transparency, accountability, and gender inclusion.
PIND added that the N1.2bn pact would serve as a model for responsible corporate citizenship in Nigeria’s private sector, proving that shared prosperity and social stability can thrive when businesses invest meaningfully in their host communities.
Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc, which began as an oil palm estate in 1976 and was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1979 before becoming a public company in 1997, remains one of Nigeria’s leading agribusiness firms.
The company posted a revenue of about N129.83bn and a profit after tax of N47.54bn in the first half of 2025, representing a 73.09 per cent year-on-year growth.
For the nine months ended September 2025, Okomu Oil recorded a profit after tax of N60.33bn, up by 113 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.
