Rolling...

GOV ENO MOVES TO CREATE MORE INDIGENOUS MILLIONAIRES WITH PROCUREMENT PORTAL

𝑩𝒚 Henshaw Nyong & Atuekong Paul Bassey

The Akwa Ibom State Government has taken another bold step toward transparency and economic empowerment with the launch of a digital procurement portal aimed at creating more opportunities for indigenous contractors.

At a joint press briefing on Friday at the Akpan Isemin Hall, Government House, Uyo, the Commissioner for Science and Digital Economy, Engr. Frank Ekpenyong, Ph.D., described the initiative as a trailblazing that will ensure fairness in the bidding process for government contracts.

Taking journalists through a PowerPoint presentation, the Commissioner explained that the new portal, created on the directive of Governor Umo Eno, is designed to eliminate favouritism and backdoor dealings while allowing qualified contractors to apply for projects seamlessly.

“We are here today because we have a governor who believes in transparency. His directive was clear – every contract and procurement bidding must be open to all qualified persons. This portal ensures that only competent contractors with proven capacity are selected for government jobs,” he stated.

Ekpenyong further disclosed that the platform provides contractors and vendors access to numerous projects, including the construction of over 400 houses this year, covering Commissioners’ quarters, Legislative and Judiciary quarters, Medical Village, AKBC headquarters, and Aviation quarters, among others.

He urged interested contractors to visit procurement.akwaibomstate.gov.ng and register, explaining that each applicant will receive an 11-digit unique number after successfully completing the process.

Speaking on the Akwa Ibom Electronic Identity System (AKeID), Engr. Ekpenyong explained that residents need to provide their National Identification Number (NIN), Voter Identification Number (VIN), and bank details to register. He described the system as a secure, one-stop portal designed to streamline personal verification processes.

According to him, once an individual is verified, they will be assigned a unique 11-digit number, which will serve as a single access key for multiple government platforms, including the procurement portal, employment portal, MSMEs portal, and bursary portal.

“This will eliminate the stress of repeatedly entering personal details like bank information, NIN, and VIN when applying for government services,” he added.

The portal, he said, can be accessed at identity.akwaibomstate.gov.ng.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Information, Hon. Aniekan Umanah, had highlighted Governor Umo Eno’s commitment to development, recalling the governor’s recent engagements, from town hall meetings and the ARISE Entrepreneurial Support Scheme to the inauguration of a Model Primary School and the Maritime Hub in Oron.

He revealed that it was during the last Delivery Advisory Meeting that Governor Eno directed the Ministry of Science and Digital Economy to create the procurement portal to ensure that contractors and vendors with capacity can bid for jobs without undue interference.

The press briefing was attended by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Ekerete Udoh; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Akparawa James Edet; Permanent Secretary, Finance and General Purposes Committee (FGPC); and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Research and Documentation, Dr. Essien Essien Ekefre Ndueso, among others.

AT COMMISSIONING OF MODEL SCHOOL IN ORON, GOV ENO CHARGES SCHOOL HEADS ON MAINTENANCE CULTURE

... directs head teachers to live in school

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has charged heads of schools and other institutions to ensure preservation of government infrastructures within their custody and to ensure that the intended benefits of government investments in the sector are delivered to the targeted beneficiaries.

He also tasked headmasters and headmistresses of model primary schools built across the State to utilize the live-in facilities to enhance their care for the pupils, and protection of the facilities in line with the aspirations of his administration's ARISE Agenda.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of the Model Primary School, Uko-Oyukim in Oron Local Government Area, Governor Eno said a special education monitoring team was about to be activated to monitor the model schools, warning that any headteacher found not living on campus or whose school facilities are not well managed would be replaced.

He, therefore, tasked the Akwa Ibom State Infrastructure & Assets Management and Maintenance Agency to step up their vigilance over the educational facilities, adding that he was willing to bring to bear his private business experience as a hotelier, where he would work round the clock to ensure every guest enjoys utmost comfort, to make Akwa Ibom children receive the best from government investment in the education sector.

"Very soon, we are setting up education monitoring teams, and the team will help us ensure that all of these facilities are intact. They will monitor all these schools we are opening, from the washroom to the classrooms, all the facilities, the curriculum and of the work they are doing.

"The Headmasters or Headmistresses will also ensure that non of these facilities are destroyed. We must continue to maintain the standard. I am setting up a Governor's Monitoring team, but they will work with the Honourable Commissioners to ensure that they give us the right information.

"If we come to your school, particularly our schools that are remodelled, and we find out that the standards are dropping, we will change the head Master or Mistress immediately. If we come to the school and discover that you are not living on the school compound, we will send you back somewhere else.

"We can not use your money to put this edifice in place, only for it to go down in few months," the Governor stated.

Speaking on behalf of Oron stakeholders, the Deputy Governor, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, described the emergence of Governor Umo Eno as God's blessing to Akwa Ibom State and particularly thanked the Governor for accepting to be used to extend God's love to Oron people.

According to Senator Eyakenyi, Governor Umo Eno's value for education which fueled his drive to pursue and obtain a PhD has been demonstrated in his identification of primary education as being fundamentally imperative and therefore investing in giving Akwa Ibom children a good start up.

The Commissioner for Education, Professor Ubong Umoh, presenting an overview of the project, commended Governor Umo Eno's model primary school initiative, maintaining that such underscores his administration's dedication to transforming the educational landscape thereby fostering academic excellence and social development.

He said the Uko-Oyukim Model Primary School, designed to accommodate 495 pupils in 19 fully furnished classrooms on a 25:1 pupils to teacher ratio, was fully equipped with library, early childcare development facilities, solar-powered ICT laboratory, modern sick bay, spacious auditorium, dedicated staff quarters, seperate gender-specific sanitary facilities, with comprehensive human kinetic facilities that enhances education and sports development.

Pupils of the school, little Miss Happiness Antai and Master Godwin Asuquo, conveyed the feelings of the school community through a special address and a ballad which expressed the gratitude of the pupils, teachers and their parents to the Governor for the kind gesture he has extended to them through the state-of-the-art facilities.

Media Unit
Government House, Uyo
12/3/25

Greetings everyone

THANK God it's Friday

It's Friday

Good evening guys

Tafa Balogun served as Nigeria's Inspector-General of Police from 2002 to 2004. During his tenure, he launched Operation Fire For Fire, a initiative aimed at reducing armed robbery and other criminal activities. However, his time in office was cut short when he resigned in 2004 amidst corruption allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Balogun faced an eight-count charge of diverting and embezzling public funds. In 2005, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison by an Abuja high court.

Prior to the sentencing, he had spent 67 days in EFCC custody.

As part of his sentencing, Balogun was ordered to pay a fine of N500,000 for each of the eight charges, totaling N4 million. Additionally, he was required to forfeit all assets, shares, and properties acquired with the stolen funds, valued at $150 million. These assets included cash in banks, shares in prominent companies, and 14 luxury buildings.

Later in 2005, EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu announced that the commission had recovered N17 billion from Balogun.