As part of my commitment to encouraging a conducive learning environment and quality education of our people, I commissioned and handed over an academic block, which I built, to Maurid College of Nursing Science, Mbiaso, Nsit Ibom local government area, during its maiden matriculation ceremony of 300 students, where I served as chairman on the occasion, yesterday.

I also promised to install solar-powered lightings around the institution's premises to ensure security of the students and property at night.

I used the opportunity to charge the prospective healthcare professionals to focus on their studies, so that upon graduation, they will fill the manpower gap created in the health sector by migration of other professionals for greener pastures.

Part of my address to them reads; "Your journey to becoming healthcare professionals is a call to service and humanity. This is further buttressed in the popular maxim that "health is wealth." This is in line with Harvey S. Firestone's philosophy that "the growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership."

"This quote has consistently guided my life and activities both in private and public service. It is the propelling force behind my mega empowerment, scholarship, bursary, skill acquisition, facilitation of jobs in strategic Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and foreign trainings to Akwa Ibom people."

"Also, the newly completed edifice, which shall be commissioned and donated to the institution today, is my modest effort to encourage this massive investment and, most especially, to ensure you get a conducive learning environment."

"These efforts are aimed at raising Akwa Ibom men and women who are stable enough to compete favourably with their counterparts globally."

Worthy of commendation is the Chairman of Maurid Group of Schools, Dr. Godwin Umontuen, for his foresight and investment in education, and for being a true patriot who cares about the development of the state and country.

His massive investment is interwoven with love and patriotism for the country at the centre. It is selfless, with clear intention to train and equip health professionals needed to provide healthcare services for mankind.

*Did you know?*

The human nose can detect over 1 trillion different scents!

*The Science Behind It:*

Our sense of smell is made possible by specialized cells called olfactory receptors. These receptors are embedded in the mucous membrane inside our noses.

When we breathe in, molecules of a substance travel up our nostrils and bind to these olfactory receptors. This binding triggers a signal that is sent to our brain, which interprets the signal as a specific smell.

*Fun Fact:*

The reason we can smell so many different scents is because we have around 350-400 different types of olfactory receptors in our noses!

Now, go impress your friends with this fascinating fact!

God is omniscience and omnipotent

STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS BISHOP KUKAH AS PRO-CHANCELLOR OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, KACHIA

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Bishop Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State.

Additionally, the President appointed principal officers for the university, including Prof. Qurix Williams Barnabas as Vice Chancellor, Sanusi Gambo Adamu as Registrar, Ibrahim Dalhat as bursar, and Prof. Daniel Abubakar as university Librarian.

President Tinubu also approved the appointment of Mr Thomas Etuh, representing the North Central, Chief Fabian Nwaora (South East), Prof Femi Taiwo (South West) and Zarah Bukar (North East). as members of the university's Governing Council.

All the appointees were carefully selected based on their distinguished careers, leadership experience, and dedication to advancing education in Nigeria.

President Tinubu implored them to use their collective expertise to position the university as a hub for academic excellence and research, aligning with the administration's Renewed Hope Agenda.

President Tinubu urged the newly appointed officers to provide visionary leadership and lay a solid foundation for the university's growth as it prepares to admit its first cohort of students in September 2025.

The Federal University of Applied Sciences was formerly known as Nok University. It was renamed following the federal government's takeover of its assets.

Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
March 17, 2025

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom

Guilty conscience fears no accusation in indeed

when i donate my body to science they will be like wow. i do not want this.

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.

GOV ENO BEGINS TOWN HALL MEETINGS WITH DISBURSEMENT OF N5.1 BILLION BUSINESS GRANTS

...reaffirms commitment to enhance MSMEs, rural development

833 Akwa Ibom indigenes from Abak-Etim Ekpo-Ika Federal Constituency have received their part of the N5.1 billion ARISE Grant ermarked for farmers, traders, craftmen equipment support and ARISE MSME support schemes by Governor Umo Eno.

The breakdown of the disbursement include N111 million to 178 crop, fish and livestock farmers, N176 million to 442 traders of various categories, N30 million to six Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises operators and equipment support running into hundreds of millions to 198 craftmen, as well as six beneficiaries of minibuses and three car beneficiaries.

Speaking at the maiden Town Hall Meeting/Empowerment ceremony at the Abak Township Stadium, the State Governor identified micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs as the engine that powers sustainable economic growth and restated his administration's resolve to reach out to them both in the city and at remote locations across the rural communities to empower them and enhance their growth.

"We want to support small medium scale enterprises. These small businesses are the engine of the economy. These are the small traders, farmers, those people that have their handwork. Those are the people that help the economy, they employ two or three people and they provide food for their homes. We must support them. I know what you are doing and we will keep supporting you," Governor Eno stated.

Reaffirming his commitment to rural development, the Governor maintained that he would be satisfied to take governance to the rural communities and leave enduring legacies in their lives and environments.

This, he explained, was the reason he chose to embark on painstaking profiling of potential beneficiaries to avoid urban-based enlistment of portfolio traders and farmers, attesting to the utmost transparency and due diligence of the selection process and that the beneficiaries were real and verifiable, while also admonishing beneficiaries to make good use of the grant with the consciousness that it is a one-off opportunity.

"No more will we sit in Uyo and write names of people we do not know. We have profiled all these people. If you check the brochure or go to Akwa Ibom State Government website, you'll see all their names, their phone numbers and their addresses so you can go and verify whether they got the monies or not.

"We have visited their businesses; we have visited their farms and they are not portfolio business people, so we have decided to come to their Federal Constituency to disburse the money and we will do same to others. But one thing is, once we support you, your name is captured on the portal so you cannot get it again. It will be some other peoples turn. So use your own well.

"I want to be remembered as the Governor who brought governance to the rural areas. I want to be remembered as the governor who interacted with the rural communities so they too can smell the fragrance of government. They can have good schools, good roads, good hospitals. They can have water, they can have basic necessities of life."

The Governor commended the cooperation of the leadership of Abak Federal Constituency, especially for working collaboratively to produce a unified needs document, maintaining that the document carried the essence of the day's event.

The Speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Elder Udeme Otong, leading stakeholders of Abak, Etim Ekpo and Ika Local Government Areas to make a presentation of their charter of needs, called for a motion which was moved by, and seconded by Hon. Mfon Idung and Rt. Hon Aniekan Umanah respectively, that Abak Federal Constituency will unanimously support Governor Umo Eno to continue in office beyond 2027 in appreciation of his goodness to the people of the area.

In their various goodwill messages, a chieftain of the APC and Provost of Federal College of Health Sciences, Jos, Prof. Nkereuwem Etukudo, former Legal Adviser of the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem, SAN and former Attorney General of the State, Uwemedimo Nwoko, SAN, lauded the Governor's integrity in keeping to his promise to the electorate and assured him of continuous support of the people of Abak, Etim Ekpo and Ika.

Interacting with Government House Correspondents, some beneficiaries of the grant; Inemesit Abraham and Semfon Dickson, expressed heartfelt gratitude over the grant, describing it as an apolitical, well-targetted empowerment programme. They noted that God is currently governing the state and using Governor Umo Eno as a human vessel.

Media Unit
Government House, Uyo
9/3/25

Omniscience