As a show of confidence in the nation’s indigenous techies and to give fillip to the Federal Government’s buy-Nigeria drive, Chevron Nigeria, a world leading integrated energy multinational corporation with headquarters in the United States, has engaged the services of Nigeria’s foremost technology company, Zinox Technologies Limited, for the implementation of a massive roll-out of thousands of high-end personal computers (PCs), desktop units, monitors and other accessories with which it is equipping its offices and other establishments in the country.

Chevron is the third-largest oil producer and one of the biggest investors in Nigeria where it operates under a joint-venture arrangement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the onshore and offshore assets in the Niger Delta region.

Political Economist can authoritatively reveal that Zinox has already commenced the delivery and installation of the first units of the orders – a development confirmed by a senior management staff of Chevron Nigeria who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“Certainly, we are doing business with local Nigerian companies such as Zinox Technologies, among others. We have ordered thousands of high-end servers and laptops from Zinox.  We encourage other Nigerian entrepreneurs and companies to take this as a sign of confidence.  A lot of multinationals are ready to patronize made-in-Nigeria products, provided they meet international standards.

 “With respect to the on-going roll-out of PCs and other computer accessories, it is worth emphasizing that this is not the first time we are doing business with Zinox, which has been a trusted business partner for many years. We have not been disappointed by the level of products and services received from Zinox over the years.”

Zinox Technologies’ Head of Corporate Communications, Gideon Ayogu confirmed the development.

“Yes, we have commenced the delivery and deployment of the Chevron orders through one of our partners. Apart from the major infrastructural change and the roll-out of high-end computers, servers and other accessories to Chevron Nigeria who remain one of our most regular customers, we have also enjoyed consistent patronage from other multinationals such as Total and Shell as well as a few government agencies and parastatals.

“As a global company, we move with the forces of demand. Companies like Chevron, Shell, Total have been patronizing Zinox for over 14 years and this is based purely on service quality as we all know the high standards these companies aspire to.  These local commitments have also gone a long way to helping the Management refrain from staff retrenchment or sack within this period of recession, even when the company is facing tough foreign exchange challenges to meet up with orders.”

Asked about the deployment of other devices, Ayogu disclosed that Zinox has received orders for the deployment of over 65,000 tablet PCs, among other devices. He, however, lamented the difficulty with obtaining forex which has delayed the delivery of some of the orders.

“Sadly, access to forex for companies operating in the ICT sector remains a major challenge. We are not getting enough foreign exchange to meet up with customers’ demands. Nevertheless, we will continue to push. Government’s intervention in this regard will go a long way in helping the ICT sector contribute more to the nation’s GDP,” he concluded.

A major player in the Nigerian ICT sector, Zinox enjoys the status of manufacturing Nigeria’s first indigenous and internationally certified computer brand – Zinox Computers. With advanced competencies in a suite of integrated ICT solutions including system integration, unified communication, advanced biometrics deployment, Smart Power solutions, Network Operations and Data Centre management, Fibre deployment and connectivity, E-Health and E-Learning, among many others, the company has also deployed some of the biggest projects seen in the country including its sterling work with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the deployment of card readers and biometric registration of voters which has contributed to the conduct of successive general elections in Nigeria.

Zinox Computers is Nigeria’s most popular indigenous computer brand which has powered several international conferences including the African Union conference in The Gambia and the 18^th Commonwealth Heads of Government  Meeting (CHOGM) which held in Abuja in 2003.