By Bassey Nkponam
UYO
Gov Umo Eno has been honoured with the “Enterprise-friendly Governor” Award by Eket Rotary Club.
The honour was bestowed on the Akwa Ibom governor, over the weekend, during the installation ceremony of Dr. Eka Maples as the 42nd President of Eket Rotary Club, which took place at Royalty Hotel, Eket, during which a posthumous award was also announced for the late first lady, Pastor Patience Umo Eno, for her committed service to humanity.
Presenting the award to the governor, the newly sworn-in President, Dr. Eka Maples, lauded Governor Eno for impacting on the lives of the citizens through provision of grants and other incentives which has changed the lives of the people.
Maples thanked him for leading government officials and other friends to grace the ceremony, which featured the inauguration of a board of directors, induction of new members and the official launching of the club’s service project.
She expressed appreciation to Eket Rotary Club for her nomination as the 42nd President of the club, and pledged to used her office to extend help to the needy and render service to humanity.
The governor, Eno, appreciated the Rotary Club of Eket for the award given him and his departed wife, saying that the departed first lady not only lives in their hearts, but in the lives of people she touched and impacted.
He lauded the club’s dedication to initiatives that align with his administration’s ARISE Agenda, and acknowledged its partnership in driving community development and progress in the State.
Eno commended the Club specially for prioritising projects that enhance human capacity development which were in tandem with his administration’s development blueprint.
The governor, who is a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International, acknowledged the commitment and leadership role of the Rotary Club in Nigeria, observing that Rotary was about service to humanity, and charged the newly inducted members to use their positions to offer quality and sacrificial services to humanity.
He congratulated the newly installed Rotary President, Maples, for her motherly, friendly, humble, reliable, transparent and distinctive leadership role which has earned her the exalted position, and thanked her for her sacrificial service to humanity.
“For Dr. Eka Mapples, we have been in Eket for a long time. When I first came into Eket in 1995, the family of Elijah Maples took me in as a son, and supported me.
“Eka has been my friend. We have grown from friends to a strong family, and she has always been there, very steady, firm and frank to a fault,” he said.
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