BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
Committed to promoting local content in all sectors of the economy, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has praised the foremost hospitality firm, Genesis Group Limited for creating 2,500 jobs in its operational areas.
The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote stated this on Tuesday at the commissioning of the corporate Head Office and Training Academy built by the firm in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He commended the firm for being the leading provider of catering services for major oil and gas companies in the country.
Genesis Group Limited currently owns seven standard hotels across the nation, 30 restaurants in eight states as well as 12 cinemas.
While explaining that the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act does not permit poor standards under any guise, he pointed out that caterers for the oil and gas industry must posses high expertise in the business.
He said: “The ability to cook is perhaps just about 20 percent 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 is expected to provide services such as capacity building in hotel and tourism management, client service dynamics, business processes, etiquette, emotional intelligence, logistics and supply chain.
Wabote emphasised the importance of skills in delivering wholesome hospitality experience, adding that the firm raised in-country value and reduced the dominance of foreign companies in industrial catering and hospitality.
He recalled that very few Nigerian firms could compete with foreigners in the hospitality industry until the 1990s.
Recall that Genesis Group Limited and other indigenous players in the sector facilitated the actualisation of provisions of the NOGICD Act which stipulated that a minimum of 80 percent local content is required in catering services.
The executive secretary informed that the firm is the indigenous catering providers to be certified as ISO 90001 and ISO 22000-compliant, adding that Genesis has consistently demonstrated strict compliance in safety, quality and regulatory requirements in line with local and international best practices.
He observed that the firm is one of the organisations in Nigeria where female staff far outnumbered their male counterparts.
Genesis commenced 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.
Wabote praised the visionary leadership of the founder and Group Managing Director of Genesis, Dr. Nnaeto Orazulike for his outstanding entrepreneurship, noting that he demonstrated the ‘can do’ attitude, which strengthened his commitment to delivering world-class services with a strong customer focus.
He maintained that local content development is the only guarantee for increased productivity, stable economic development, likewise the stabilisation of the naira.
Dr Orazulike thanked the NCDMB boss and representatives of International Oil Companies (IOCs) for their support and patronage, assuring that the group is poised to surpass its present achievements.
He revealed plans to build a world-class hospitality centre and provide world-class cinematic experience, which he said would be accomplished through capacity building programmes in the academy.
Representatives of the Waltersmith Modular Refinery in Ohaji Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, and Bank of Industry (BOI) also commended the company for its sterling performance over the years.
The BOI Management stated that partnering with Genesis has been very rewarding, promising its continous support to the company.
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