Seplat Energy Partners NNPC, Targets 6,000 Visually-impaired In Eye Surgery Project

In line with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Seplat Energy Plc working under a Joint Venture (JV) intervention project with the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has launched a free sight restoration scheme, targeting no fewer than 6,000 persons across the oil host communities.

LEADERSHIP learnt the ongoing “Eye Can See” programme later this week, would draw beneficiaries from Uyo, Eket and Ibeno local government areas of Akwa Ibom State.

“The free week-long eye-care programme targets more than 6,000 people across Uyo, Eket and Ibeno,” the Seplat Energy management stated, adding that
“the free programme provides eye screening, treatment and reading glasses, as well as sight-restoring surgery for eligible patients as the first edition of the initiative kicks – off in Akwa Ibom State.”

At the launch, the Chairman of Seplat Energy Plc, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, recalled that “the programme is fulfillment of a commitment made to the State government following Seplat Energy’s acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited assets.

“After the acquisition of the MPNU assets in Akwa Ibom, I led our delegation to visit the Governor and explained that Seplat Energy believes in contributing proactively to the development of the communities where we operate.

“I specifically mentioned the ‘Eye Can See’ programme, and promised that we would extend it to Akwa Ibom. We are here today to fulfil that promise,” Udoma recalled.

According to him, responsible operations must be matched by meaningful social investment that responds to identified community needs and delivers lasting benefits.”

“Good vision supports learning, work, independence and dignity. Professional eye care addresses an immediate health need, but it also helps people regain opportunities that may have been lost,” he added.

In the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seplat Energy, Engr. Effiong U. Okon, recalled that the initiative began in 2012 in Edo, Delta and Imo States with a clear purpose of preventing avoidable loss of sight by bringing screening, treatment, corrective lenses and surgery closer to the people who need them.”

He said the programme had, over 14 years, screened 130,771 patients, distributed 67,491 pairs of glasses free of charge and performed 5,350 sight-restoring surgeries, adding that in 2025 alone it reached 13,726 beneficiaries, distributed 7,074 pairs of glasses and completed 471 surgeries.

“These results show a programme that remains active, relevant and capable of reaching people at scale,” Okon said, maintaining that the initiative had grown beyond periodic outreach into lasting local capacity.

He noted that In Edo State, the 2025 edition was hosted at the Palace of the Oba of Benin, reflecting the value of working through trusted institutions, while in Delta State the Joint Venture built the Sapele Eye Centre, which has two surgery rooms, four examination rooms, two wards, a laboratory and solar power, and now supports eye care and surgery throughout the year.

“An outreach answers an immediate need. Permanent facilities build the local capacity to keep answering it,” he said.

He pointed out that the “Sight First” programme in Imo State is evidence that the model could be adapted to local needs.

Developed at ANOH Gas Processing Company, a joint venture with NNPC Limited, he explained that the intervention had served the company’s 11 host and impacted communities through a mobile clinic in 2025, adding that its fourth year had recorded screening of 2,789 people, one-third more than the previous year, distributing 1,284 pairs of glasses, completing 116 surgeries and placing 1,309 people on blood-pressure medication.

“The lesson is practical: a proven programme can be adapted to local needs without losing its focus or standards. That is how an initiative becomes an enduring system of care,” Okon said.

Besides, he said the Akwa Ibom edition would provide free eye screening, treatment, corrective glasses and sight-restoring surgery for eligible patients, with medical teams also screening for glaucoma, hypertension and diabetes, conditions that often go undetected until they cause serious harm.

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, represented by the Deputy Governor, Senator Dr Akon Eyakenyi, described the programme as a timely intervention for people whose lives and productivity have been affected by visual impairment.

The Governor noted that cataract accounts for about 43 per cent of blindness in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey, and said timely access to professional care could prevent avoidable loss of sight.

“Many individuals and families have had their aspirations cut short and their productivity limited by visual impairment caused by cataract. We appreciate the efforts of the Joint Venture to help beneficiaries regain their sight, rebuild confidence and reclaim lost potential,” he said.

One beneficiary, Rose Edenteghe, a teacher, said deteriorating eyesight had affected her ability to read, write, see her students clearly and move around independently. She had previously paid for surgery on one eye but was unable to afford treatment for the other.

“They did not just give us surgery; they gave us back our sight and our joy. Thank you for giving us our dignity back,” Edenteghe said.