Mr Tunde Albert Ajala, founding Executive Director of Dovewell Oilfield Services Limited, an indigenous Engineering design, Procurement Construction and Installation/Engineering Procurement Construction and Maintenance EPCI/EPCM Company with offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Angola and Ghana.
His innovation and business acumen have birthed other prestigious organizations like I-Flow Energy Limited, Dovewell Renewable Energy Limited and Dominion Mining Company. A terrific team player with about 22 years of cognate experience which cuts across energy, downstream and upstream sectors.
An Official Member of Forbes Business Council, Ajala is also a professional member of Managers and Administrators, Institute of Credit Administration, Member, Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply Associate, Member American Association Of Petroleum Geologists- (AAPG) and Member, and Nigerian Association of Petroleum Exploration Geologists- (NAPE).
These memberships are a result of his professional expertise, leadership, and functional and competency profiles achieved over the years in the areas of sales/telemarketing, project management, contract closeout, business intelligence and revenue generation as well as top executive management.
With reference to his proven career track history of simultaneously managing diverse organisations in his capacity as an Executive Director, Dovewell was also recognized by SNEPCO for her Robust performance on the BONGA NDT Project and was awarded an S&E Award for her goal zero performance on the project and this is a plus to her as a fast-rising Oil and gas establishment. Also, in June 2022, Dovewell was awarded on SNEPCO Wellness and Care category for her top-notch performance on the contract execution managed by Tunde Ajala.
The company was also successfully registered Dovewell Oilfield Services in Ghana in which the office was fully operational in 2023. Dovewell was awarded a performance booster for delivery of huge sales in millions of Dollars to PEERLESS PUMP in Indianapolis….
In your capacity as the Founding Executive Director of Dovewell Oilfield Services Ltd, how well has the business performed in terms of attaining its objectives?
As the Founding Executive Director of Dovewell Oilfield Services Limited, I am proud to highlight that our business has demonstrated exceptional performance in attaining its objectives. A few months ago, we reviewed our annual strategic plan as well as our organizational objectives at the process level and this was cascaded from top to bottom to everyone in the organization and this has been driving every one of us in the organization to be focused on our strategic vision and also relentlessly pursue excellence, and the periodic strategy session monitoring has contributed significantly to the overall success and growth of Dovewell’s strategic objectives.
At the beginning of the 2023 business year, we set out to achieve 90% of clients’ satisfaction at the minimum and I will confidently say we have achieved and even surpassed our expectations. Our dedication to client satisfaction has been a driving force. This client-centric approach has not only resulted in the successful completion of projects but has also fostered long-term relationships and client loyalty.
The passion and commitment of our team have played a pivotal role in our achievements. Their enthusiasm for embracing challenges, driving innovation, and maintaining the highest standards of professionalism have positioned Dovewell as a leader in the industry.
Looking forward, our objectives include further expanding our footprints in local markets and venturing into new territories in Africa. These strategic initiatives align with our vision for regional growth and solidify our commitment to making a positive impact on a broader scale. I have championed this vision through my innovation and resilience which gave birth to other companies like I-Flow Energy Limited, Dominion Mining Company,
Dovewell Exploration and Production Company Limited and Dovewell Renewable Energy Limited. Also, Dovewell has expanded its horizon to the western African countries so as to achieve more desired improvement/development.
In summary, Dovewell has performed exceptionally well in achieving its objectives, we are excited about the future and confident in our ability to continue delivering excellence in all aspects of our business.
Comparing the Nigerian professionals to their foreign counterparts in terms of quality service delivery, do you think the foreign professionals outperform Nigerians using the oil and gas industry as a yardstick?
There may be few professionals who deviate from best practices among the Nigerian indigenous oil and gas firms but for the majority of indigenous oil and gas sectors, it is safe to say that Nigerians are at equality with their foreign counterparts in terms of performance and quality service delivery. Gone are the days when all the operations of the oil and gas sectors in Nigeria were reserved for only foreign companies to execute. This disparity has been recognized and the narrative is changing in the last few years. However, some challenges need to be addressed for sustainable growth in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. These include environmental concerns, infrastructure limitations, security issues, and regulatory and governance reforms. We are hoping to close the gap to enable indigenous oil and gas firms to be considered for turn-key projects.
What is your assessment of the Local Content Act’s impact on the development of indigenous firms in the country?
The impact of the Local Content Act on the development of indigenous firms in Nigeria has been tremendous. We have embraced the local content policy by ensuring there is technology transfer when our expats work with our local personnel on projects in Nigeria. To buttress that, we have an exclusive agreement with world-class valve manufacturer AlcoValve for set up of a facility for the maintenance and repairs of Alco valves and other valves in Nigeria. A facility is being set up for Peerless pump and Advance Valve and this will ensure the Nigerian content retention of funds in the country and create more employment opportunities for Nigerians.
For one, there have been creations of employment opportunities for Nigerians who have an interest in the oil industry. For example, before the enactment of the NOGICD Act in 2010, out of the $20 billion industries spent, less than 3 per cent was retained in Nigeria. But today, 95 per cent of the oil and gas service companies, be it onshore or swamp drilling, well intervention and simulation activities, are carried out by Nigerian resources.
Previously, these were wholly set aside for the multinationals such as Halliburton, Schlumberger, etc.
Further investigation also shows that Nigerians have since taken more than those everyday jobs in the swamp and land areas where drilling operations are carried out. Also, the subsidiary oil fields are operated by Nigerians, adding up molecules to the unfinished oil barrels in the petroleum subdivision.
In conclusion, the Local Content Act is found to facilitate higher revenue & retain spending in-country thereby stimulating economic growth, promoting the development of local industries, building local capacity and boosting employment
What difficulties does your organization currently face in preserving a moral and ethical corporate environment?
Despite the increasing understanding of the importance of ethics and compliance, there are still some organizations where ethics and company culture is taken for granted. In Dovewell, the employee and subcontractors code of conduct is implemented on a daily basis and all personnel are encouraged to strictly adhere to our corporate culture. However, the difficulties our organization face in preserving our moral and ethical corporate environment is detailed below:
The negative attitude: From vendors, agents, independent contractors and other third parties in this regard, third-party risk management procedures are in place in Dovewell to combat any form of violation. This includes conducting proper due diligence on all third parties prior to enlisting their services, providing organization-specific ethics and compliance training when appropriate and instituting comprehensive oversight practices.
Corporate Espionage: Workers can misuse company data. An employee may steal intellectual property or provide a competitor with information about a client. Usually, this is for monetary purposes, but it can also help an employee secure a position at another firm and they will exit the organization without notice.
Discrimination; One of the biggest ethical issues affecting the business world is discrimination. Discrimination is not just unethical; in many cases, it is also illegal. There are statutes to protect employees from discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, disability, and more. Nonetheless, the gender and race pay gaps show that discrimination is still rampant.
Involvement in cyber security: While cyber security is typically viewed as a technological issue, research indicates that nearly 70 percent of data breaches were caused by either malicious employee actions or non-malicious employee errors. In combating cyber security, Dovewell has taken steps to improve cyber security which includes ensuring the topic is clearly addressed in the organization’s code of conduct, incorporating cyber security into our Ethics &Compliance training and encouraging the use of reporting hotlines to convey information regarding potential security breaches.
Local laws in the nations where we are conducting business: Behaviours and practices that are deemed ethical in the home country could constitute serious ethical breaches in the host country. Dovewell provides training on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and any other pertinent anti-bribery laws.
The effect of social changes: The effects of new, updated and trending values have impacted most Organizations’ cultures because with the passage of time, new values and systems arise, status quo gets challenged so Dovewell has been able to develop a thorough understanding of how to deter these changes by promoting conduct based on Integrity and trust, empathetic decision making and compliance that is consistent with the Organization’s core values.
Meeting expectations for social responsibility from host communities: In most cases the demands from the host and neighboring communities are alarming and thus meeting their expectations becomes impossible with the current economic climate due to the volatility of the exchange rates.
In managing ethics and compliance, Dovewell is a member of Trace SME, a non-profit international business association dedicated to anti-bribery, compliance, and good governance. Through trace, training on ethics and compliance is set up for our workforce for enhanced productivity.
Additionally, several policies are developed to improve ethics and compliance, whilst Employees sign a nondisclosure agreement before they start working with any sensitive information. To create an effective deterrent, specify that violating agreements will result in severe penalties.
