By Isaiah Eka
The Akwa Ibom Government, on Monday in Uyo, officially unveiled the State Human Capital Development Strategy Plan, with priority attention in education and healthcare.
The plan, christened: ” ARISE Human Capital Development Strategy Plan” was unveiled by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Speaking at the event, Shettima said that the policy was a declaration that the true wealth of any nation lied in her human capital development, especially the education and health of the citizenry.
The vice president said that human capital development plans should be rooted in the people, and guided by a steady understanding of the direction of the world.
He said that the country must pay attention to the citizens’ need for immunisation, unemployment and maternal mortality to effectively promote human capital development.
Shettima urged the Akwa Ibom Government to ensure effective implementation of the plan at the local government level.
The vice president commended Akwa Ibom for being the first state to domesticate the national human development plan, and urged other states to follow up.
“The true wealth of any nation lies in the certainty of its human capital development, especially education, health and the productivity of its workforce.
“The ARISE human capital development strategy is a template for other states of the federation to follow. We cannot build an enduring future without a solid foundation.
“Akwa Ibom has shown core leadership. It has become the first state in the nation to localise the human capital development plan,” he said.
In his remarks, Gov. Umo Eno, said that the human capital development plan became imperative due to the need to address the post COVID-19 challenges that the world was facing.
“It became proper for the state government to strengthen individual and institutional capacities to rise in real time to confront future pandemics.
“Apart from the above key areas, the plan is also designed to expansively provide key human-centric projects in healthcare and education.
“We are currently investments in the construction and equipping of primary healthcare centres.
We are also providing quality education at both the primary and secondary levels,” he said.
Eno said that the state government had plans to construct model secondary schools in the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said that the Ibom Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development Centre, had trained and given start-up grants to no fewer than 4,000 people.
“Also, the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Centre, recently graduated about 400 trainees in various areas of marketable and entrepreneurial skills.
“These 400 graduands were trained in ICT, mechanised agriculture, carpentry, fashion design, tourism among others,” he said.
The governor commended President Bola Tinubu for this critical initiative, and commitment to the issue of national development.
“We appreciate the Federal Government for selecting Akwa Ibom as the first for the launch of the programme.
This has shown that the president does not play politics with development.
In a goodwill message, Mrs Nkechi Obi, the Group Managing Director, Techno Oil Limited, said that no meaningful development could take place without a deliberate and actionable roadmap.
Obi said that for development to take place, there must be well thought-out plans to address the critical challenges militating against human capital development.
The group managing director said that a human capital development plan was critical to the economic buoyancy of a country such as Nigeria.
She expressed the commitment of Techno Oil was towards ensuring cleaner, greener, safer and more friendly environment by producing quality cooking cylinders.
Obi said that Techno Oil had distributed no fewer than 20,000 units of 6kg LPG cylinders to indigent women as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts.
The company distributed free 50 pieces of LPG cylinders to Akwa Ibom women during the ocassion.
Earlier, the Chairman, Akwa Ibom State Human Capital Development Council, Dr Nathaniel Adiakpan, said that the plan represented a collective resolve to empower citizens through education, innovation and creativity.
Adiakpan said that the comprehensive framework was designed to address the unique needs of the citizens and communities. NAN
