By Bassey Nkponam
UYO
The Federal government has lauded the Akwa Ibom State governor’s investment in human capital development, assuring of its readiness to partner Eno’s administration.
The vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima who made the commendation on Monday, during the launch of the ARISE Human Capital Development and ARISE Local Government HCD Implementation Roadmap and Strategic Plan which took place at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo, Akwa Ibom capital, noted that Akwa Ibom has become the first state in the nation to localise the Human Capital Development(HCD) vision in its truest form.
Shetima observed that while other states have a strategy tailored towards the state, Akwa Ibom has taken a step forward by adopting the strategies in all local government areas, urging other governors to learn from the example set by Governor Umo Eno.
He lauded Akwa Ibom, not only for Governor Umo Eno’s outstanding performance, but for daring to dream bigger.
“What Akwa Ibom State has shown us here isn’t just progress, it is leadership. It has become the first state in the nation to localise the HCD vision in its truest form. While other states have a strategy tailored towards the state, Akwa Ibom has taken a step forward by adopting the strategies in all local government areas”.
Shettima said the National Human Capital Development programme, which has entered the second phase is a solution re-engineered by the federal government to meet the moment, adding that at its core, HCD 2.0 is about integration and impact built on the foundation of HCD 1.0, but goes further to incorporate cross-cutting themes.
He noted that the project is a declaration that the true worth of any nation lies in the certainty of its human capital, education of its children, health of its citizens, and the productivity of its workforce, saying the launch of the ARISE Human Capital Development Strategy by Pastor Umo Eno is a template for each state of the federation, and a “strategy that acknowledges that we can’t build an enduring castle without a solid foundation”.
The Vice President later embarked on a facility tour of ongoing construction of ARISE Park and Christ The King Model Primary School, to assess the ARISE educational model of the Akwa Ibom State government, during which he noted the landmark achievements recorded in the two years of Eno’s administration with tangible infrastructures, notably in health and education, saying “with the development on ground, Governor Eno has drastically reduced the percentage of out of school children in Akwa Ibom”.
The Akwa Ibom governor saluted Shetima for the great work done in putting together the building blocks of the ARISE Human Capital Development and Local Government HCD Implementation Roadmap and Strategic Plan, as well as leading frontally towards its implementation and delivery.
The Governor also appreciated President Bola Tinubu, for making Human Capital Dvelopment a major focal area of his Renewed Hope Agenda, of which, Akwa Ibom State is a beneficiary.
Eno said the Human Capital Development plan, is also designed to expansively provide key human-centric projects such as healthcare services which the State is currently executing through investments in the construction and equipping of primary healthcare centres, provision of quality education at both the primary and secondary levels, empowerment of the people, and equipping them with requisite skills, knowledge and equipment they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
He enumerated different efforts of his administration at human capital development to include establishment of Ibom Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development(IBOM LED) Centre which has trained over 4000 people with start-up grants ranging from N500,000 to N750,000; the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Centre, DASAC, where over 400 trainees recently graduated in various areas of skills-set; empowerment of business owners, traders and farmers with grants worth over N4 billion through Town Square
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