WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF GIOLEE GLOBAL RESOURCES LTD ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF ITS CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS TODAY, 9TH JANUARY 2026
Our Special Guest of Honour,
His Excellency, Barr. Nyesom Wike,
the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT);
The Chairman of today’s occasion,
Major General LetamWiwa (Rtd);
Other Respected Dignitaries here present, Clergies and our Respected Traditional Rulers;
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
You are all warmly welcome as we gather today to celebrate another milestone in the history of our business.
Giolee Global Resources Limited is an indigenous company, based in Nigeria but we operate and compete globally in the oil and gas industry. Our track record and indeed what you are witnessing today is clear evidence that we conduct our business with dedication, discipline, strategic skill, deep industry knowledge,and the fear of God. These qualities have brought us to this moment, as we formally open the Corporate Headquarters of what is today one of the biggest environmental companies in Nigeria/Africa, and one of the best in the world—located here in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
The name Giolee is derived from two joint words: Gio and Lee. Gio means “wealth” in the Ogoni language and also happens to be the name of my beautiful wife, while Lee means “good” and represents my name, Lesi. These two life partners form the name Giolee, while Global reflects the international reach we have attained, and Resources is evidence of the materials, equipment, and capabilities we have provided to our clients over the years.This is what Giolee Global Resources Ltd stands for and represents.
With this consciousness, over the past 25 yearsfrom our incorporation in 2004 to date—we have consistently operated solely within the oil and gas industry. We have focused on building our capabilities in environmental services within the oil and gas sector. While we have given birth to other stand-alone businesses, by diversifying into other areas of business that function alongside Giolee. Giolee remains the mother company. Hence, in recognition of our growth and capacity,we deemed it fit to establish a headquarters that truly reflect who we are. We felt it was time to let the world see our journey, achievements and how far we have come.
This edifice you see today was built without any loan from any bank or individual, and with no outstanding debt as at today. It was funded solely from profits made from businesses carried out by Giolee over the years, clearly reflecting sustainable growth and strong capacity in the oil and gas sector.
This facility houses a state-of-the-art petroleum laboratory, environmental laboratory, toxicology laboratory, microbiology laboratory, wet chemistry laboratory, gas chromatography laboratory, AAS laboratory, and Liquified Natural Gas laboratory. It also includes training facilities in several specialized areas, a canteen for our staff, a crèche to provide care and support for the babies and young children of our staff, a medivac unit to handle medical emergencies, an assembly hall, and executive offices with recreational areas at the roof top for staff relaxation. The building is equipped with two Elevators for convenient access to the various floors. The building can accommodate about 500 staff members across offices and laboratories and features multiple exits, a model reception area, and conveniences for both male and female staff on every floor. It also includes guest houses for corps members and new staff, a gym, and recreational facilities for sporting activities.
It is imperative to state that Gioleeis certified with various international and local accreditations, including but not limited to ISO 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015. We also have several international technical partners and companies for which we hold exclusive representation rights in Nigeria for their various services In the oil and gas sector.
This is the Giolee Global Resources Ltd corporate headquarters as of today and It is important to state clearly that one of the reasons we invited the Honourable Minister of the FCT to commission this corporate office is that, two weeks to the end of his tenure as Governor of Rivers State, he issued us the Certificate of Occupancy for this land. which means is part of his legacy projects to the Rivers people during his tenure as the executive Governor of Rivers State. This support aided us to put this edifice/office complex in this location and further led to the creation of jobs for the Rivers people and Nigerians.This shows his contributions to the business community in the state during his tenure as the executive Governor of Rivers State, which makes him the rightful person to commission this corporate headquarters today. Again, we say, thank you, sir.
Importantly, allow us to inform you that, we are currently constructing the biggest hazardous waste integrated facility in Nigeria at Ebubu, Eleme, in Rivers State, strategically located close to the Onne Port to support offshore and onshore industrial waste management for oil and gas operations in Nigeria. The waste facility sits on about 20 hectares of land, housing amodern Automated Thermal Desorption Unit(TDU) and a modern incinerator system, alongside various other waste treatment and managementequipment in place.This facility is scheduled for completion within the next three months of this year 2026.
We have one of the biggest oil spill Response Team with owned equipment like; 1000 length of containment booms in the country, and we are the only privately owned Nigerian company capable of protecting up to about five kilometers of shoreline and sand beaches during any major oil spill incidents from any oil and gas operation as of today in Nigeria. This capability exists outside the CNA which is jointly owned and founded bythe IOCs. We also operate the largest mangrove nursery in the country, with about 1,000,000 mangrove seedlings currently ready for transplantation across our various project sites in the Niger Delta. Our laboratories possess the capacity to handle a wide range of analytical parameters with state-of-the-art equipment that meet international standards, operated by trained and certified personnelavailable in this facility.
Additionally, we own about 50 different marine vessels, speedboats, and barges used for our operations, over 40 different pumps for oil spill response and clean-up activities, and numerous heavy-duty equipment including excavators, tractors, bulldozers, and payloaders—all fully owned by us.
We are currently managing about sixteen contaminated remediation and clean-up sites, alongside numerous other environmental projects, both onshore and offshore, simultaneously for different clients, including Renaissance (formerly Shell), Agip, Oando, TotalEnergies, Chevron, and HYPREP. We execute these projects using our own equipment and personnel due to our strong capacity and expertise, with project values running into millions of dollars and billions of naira.
Giolee Global Resources Ltd is among the highest private-sector employers of labour in Rivers State, with over 780 staff currently engaged across our various project sites. We also actively carry out corporate social responsibility projects in the communities where we operate. We are highly sensitive to environmental sustainability and deeply committed to peace and security within our operating environment. As a responsible corporate citizen, we pay all our taxes regularly as part of our contribution to national development. In fact, last year we received a tax refund of ₦250 million from the FIRS as over deductionon our taxes paid to the Federal Government, reflecting the volume of taxes we pay annually and our commitment to national economic growth.
We remain committed to supporting youth entrepreneurship within our host communities. Last year, we also donated ₦200 million to 20 young Ogoni entrepreneurs to support the growth of their respective businesses, after solely sponsoring a business summit for them. In this same spirit, and to demonstrate our appreciation to our host community, Rumuesere in Eneka where our corporate Headquarters is sited, we will today donate a 500kVA transformer to the community. We will also pay the school fees of 50 undergraduate studentsfrom this community in Tertiary Institutions and provide employment opportunities to qualified sons and daughters from this same community. We shall also, open our laboratory to the secondary School science students in this community to carry out excursions that will open their minds and attract them to the study of science because they will in turn become our future employees. This will serve as a welcome package to our host community and as a sign that we have brought light to the community and a demonstration of our readiness to support and accommodate our host community where our headquarters is located.
We cannot fully capture who we are today in one speech, especially as we do not wish to keep our esteemed guests waiting. However, it is important again to note that we started small, and today we are all witnesses to the result of consistent growth, discipline, and strategic thinking. This is proof that we, as Rivers people, can build successful businesses in Nigeria and compete globally. We encourage our brothers and sisters in Rivers State to engage in legitimate businesses and shun crime. Rivers State is peaceful, safe, and open for investment, as we have demonstrated to the world today.
We also wish to express our gratitude to our banker -Access Bank PLC which is our sole banker of over 15 years because they were introduced to us by the one of our brothers, the late Herbert Wigwe(may his soul rest in perfect peace), and we have consistently maintained a business relationship with this Bank, which has supported us in our growth trajectory from inception to date.
Above all, we acknowledge that it is God Almighty who has made this day possible. It may surprise you to know that from the inception of this company to date, our staff and management observe a monthly night vigil to seek God’s guidance once every month till date—and we shall continue this practice. This is one of our trade secrets for success, because every success has a secret. Today, we have chosen to share one of it, which is: putting God first and always in all our endeavors. As clearly stated in Deuteronomy 8:18, it is God who gives the power to create wealth.
Finally, I thank God Almighty for His wisdom and grace, and I thank you all, our esteemed guests, for honoring us with your presence. May God bless you as you return safely to your various destinations.
Thank you, and God bless you all.
Lesi Baribera Maol
