By Bassey Nkponam
UYO
In his avowed commitment to operating a detribalised leadership that impacts lives of citizens and non citizens alike, the Akwa Ibom governor has honoured a young girl from Edo State, Miss Precious Bodunde, with an Excellence Encouragement Grant of N10million for displaying her unique talent by pronouncing the five longest words in English Language with ease.
Recall that the short video of her performance had gone viral on the social media, catching the attention of Nigerians, including the State governor, Pastor Umo Eno.
Eno who honoured Precious Tuesday, when he invited the Edo State girl to Government House, Uyo, where he presented her with an Excellence Encouragement Grant of N10million, said he came across the short video of her performance and was thrilled on hearing Precious pronounce those long and jaw-breaking words effortlessly.
He said it was encouraging to see a young Nigerian girl that is so focused, and was quite necessary to encourage such talent, saying, “this is special to me. It is simply to encourage her and to let her know that there is reward for hard work”.
Eno assured citizens that his government will continue to support and encourage best and brightest youths of the State in every field of their endeavour.
The governor made known that government had taken note of an Akwa Ibom son who emerged as best in the West African School Certificate Examinations, Akwa Ibomites that went to Singapore, as well as an Akwa Ibom son who played for the under 17 football team, got injured, and could not further his career, saying a night has been set aside to celebrate them and all known Akwa Ibom children who have excelled in their academic endeavours.
He lauded the parents of Precious, who accompanied her on the visit, for their investment in their daughter’s developing talent, and urged them, alongside parents across the country to be committed to their children’s upbringing, as such investment, he noted, is always rewarding.
Presenting the cheque to the beneficiary, the coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Lady Helen Obareki, expressed happiness that the beneficiary was a girl child, stating that the grant was the beginning of many good things to come her way.
The beneficiary, Precious Bodunde, said she was overwhelmed by such demonstration of love for humanity by Eno, and appreciated him for his gesture which she saw as a joyous way to commence the New Year.
“I am so grateful to God for using His Excellency, Governor Umo Eno, to do this in my life. I am so happy and this is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, meaning fantastic or extraordinarily good.”
The father of the beneficiary, Pastor Israel Bodunde, saw the gesture as an unprecedented demonstration of love and Governor Eno as a detribalised Nigerian.
“I see a totally detribalised personality in the governor of Akwa Ibom State. A totally unbiased Nigerian with his eyes for excellence; and with this, the governor stands very tall both here and in future. The reward is there for him. I am quite elated and I am not taking this for granted”.
Recall that Governor Eno had, last year, through a similar channel invited and sponsored Miss Priscilla Samuel Daniel and two other Akwa Ibomites to the Nigeria Aviation School in Zaria where their dreams to one day fly a Boeing aircraft has begun.
Similarly, he had also invited and honoured a young lady and former National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) member from Ugep Local Government Area of Cross River State, Miss Arit Abam, whose story went viral after she posted a video where she honoured her father for his sacrifices after completing her service year.
Governor Eno, who saw the trending video with the dilapidated condition of the family home in Ugep, was moved to lend a helping hand by building an ARISE Compassionate Home for them.
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