Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has reaffirmed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging Nigerians to stand behind the President as he intensifies efforts to tackle the nation’s challenges.
The Governor made the call when he received officials of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD) led by its founder, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, a distinguished diplomat and former United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, who also served as Chief of Staff to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Governor noted that despite the difficulties facing the country, the President is committed to stabilising the economy and driving national reforms.
“As a patriot, I believe we need to support the President to continue his bold and audacious reforms which are already showing signs of success across sectors in our nation,” he said.
Governor Eno also appreciated Prof. Gambari for showing keen interest in his administration’s ARISE Agenda, and highlighted efforts to entrench peace, enhance security, and expand the State’s tourism profile through projects such as the ARISE Palm Resort, the smart airport, hotels, and other tourism assets designed to position Akwa Ibom as a leading destination in the Gulf of Guinea.
He stressed the need for continuous human capital development to sustain progress.
“In all of these, we need strong human capacity and development because like you rightly identified, the need for our people taking ownership and aligning themselves to the core values of our ARISE Agenda is very important. So there is a need for synergy between the civil service and public service. I believe we can work very closely to have training for our workers,” he added.
He directed the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah, and the Executive Assistant/Chief Delivery Advisor, Mr. Aniefiok Johnson, to kick start modalities for collaboration with the centre.
The Governor commended Prof. Gambari for his distinguished national and international service, describing his career as exemplary.
Earlier, Prof. Gambari expressed gratitude for the warm reception and commended the Governor for the developmental strides recorded in just over two years.
He said his visit was to introduce the Savannah Centre, which is engaged in conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and social development, with programmes that include human capacity training for senior government officials across Nigeria.
Prof. Gambari was accompanied by the Executive Director of SCDDD, Sani Saulawa Bala, and Mr. Ibrahim Ahmed.
Present at the meeting were members of the State Executive Council including the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah; Executive Assistant/Chief Delivery Advisor, Mr. Aniefiok Johnson and the Dean, State College of Commissioners, Hon. Frank Archibong.