Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited (SEEPCO) has intensified efforts to curb misuse of empowerment packages in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states. The company is focusing on women entrepreneurs who demonstrated commitment in a 2025 financial literacy programme that supported about 1,000 women from host communities. While many used the start-up funds to launch profitable micro businesses, reports from SEEPCO confirmed that some beneficiaries wasted the funds.
In 2026, the company shifted strategy, partnering with its CSR arm, VCDF, to deliver a second phase of training for 100 top-performing women from the initial cohort. The new training, which began May 22, 2026, and lasted two weeks, covered business planning, budgeting, savings, pricing, customer relations, financial record keeping, and access to financial services. Participants received working tools, consumables, and basic business materials.
Goodfellow Julius, a chief and village head in Iwofe, Rivers State, praised the initiative for going beyond skills acquisition by building knowledge and confidence. Beneficiaries like Peace Emem described the support as life changing, saying it gave her the confidence to start a business and improve her family's wellbeing. Lanre Oluseye, a business leader and cleric, observed that some youths who received past empowerment packages later sold the equipment under the Agip Flyover for small amounts, then returned for new handouts.
SEEPCO's renewed focus follows years of complaints from oil firms about mismanagement of empowerment projects in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has created a database to track beneficiaries and phase support, aiming to prevent repeat disbursements to those who previously misused funds.
Sterling Oil is rewarding only the 100 women it deemed serious after 900 others allegedly wasted 2025's empowerment funds, exposing a selectivity the company did not apply during initial disbursement. The shift implies that the broader 2025 exercise may have benefited those who never intended to run businesses. If equipment is still being sold under the Agip Flyover, then SEEPCO's new approach may only be delaying the same outcome without stronger oversight.
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