By Seyi Babalola
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, on Thursday commissioned the corporate Head Office and Training Academy of hospitality conglomerate, Genesis Group Limited, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The NCDMB boss lauded the firm for being the leading provider of catering services for major oil and gas companies in the country and employing over 2,500 persons across its various operations. The firm’s footprints include operating seven standard hotels across the nation, managing 30 restaurants in eight states and operating 12 cinemas.
Wabote highlighted the specialization and expertise that are required in catering for the oil and gas industry, stressing that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act does not allow for the lowering of standards under any guise. He said: “The ability to cook is perhaps just about 20% of what is required to provide good catering service for the oil and gas industry. The ambience, how you serve the food, the people you use to serve the food, how you preserve the food, the quality of the substance you use are the most important conditions. It is all encompassing.”
The Academy, built by the Group for capacity building in Hotel and Tourism Management, Client Service Dynamics, Business Processes, Etiquette, Emotional Intelligence, Logistics and Supply Chain, among other courses drew commendation from the Executive Secretary, who emphasized the importance of those skills in delivering wholesome hospitality experience.
He said the Genesis Group has helped to raise in-country value and reduce the dominance of foreign companies in industrial catering and hospitality, recalling that very few Nigerian firms could compete with such foreign interests in the hospitality industry until the 1990s.
The firm and other indigenous players in the sector facilitated the actualisation of provisions of the NOGICD Act which stipulate, among other things, “a minimum of 80% Nigerian Content” in catering services in the industry.
Commenting further on the accomplishments of the company, which ranks as the first indigenous catering firm to be certified as ISO 90001 and ISO 22000-compliant, he pointed out that Genesis has demonstrated strict compliance in both local and international best practices in safety, quality and regulatory requirements. He equally observed that it is one of the very organisations in Nigeria where female staff far outnumber their male counterparts.
He commended “The visionary leadership of the founder and Group Managing Director of Genesis, Ichie Dr. Nnaeto Orazulike, for his outstanding entrepreneurship, noting that he has demonstrated the “CAN DO” attitude, which drives his commitment to delivering world-class services with a strong customer focus.”
He maintained that local content development is the only guarantee of increased productivity, stable economic development as well as stabilisation of the naira.
In his comments, Dr Orazulike thanked the NCDMB boss and representatives of international oil companies (IOCs) for their support and patronage, assuring that the Group was poised to even surpass its present achievements.
His vision for the near future, he disclosed, was to build a world-class hospitality centre and to provide world-class cinematic experience. These would be attained through capacity building programmes to be provided by the newly commissioned Training Academy and other initiatives of the organisation.
In goodwill messages, representatives of the Waltersmith Modular Refinery in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area, Imo State, and Bank of Industry (BOI) commended the company for its sterling performance over the years. The BOI Management stated that “The partnership with Genesis has been very rewarding” because “every step taken has been well guided.” It promised to continue to work closely with the company.
Genesis began as a 25-seater restaurant in Enugu in 1991 and has grown within a space of 32 years to become a conglomerate with key focus in hospitality, catering and entertainment.
