Akwa Ibom unveils human capital development plan

The Akwa Ibom State Government officially unveiled the State Human Capital Development Strategy Plan on Monday in Uyo, with priority attention to education and healthcare.

The plan, christened: “ARISE Human Capital Development Strategy Plan”, was unveiled by Vice-President Kashim Shettima

Speaking at the event, Mr Shettima said the policy was a declaration that the true wealth of any nation lies in her human capital development, especially the education and health of the citizenry.

The vice-president said human capital development plans should be rooted in the people, and guided by a steady understanding of the direction of the world.

He said the country must consider the citizens’ need for immunisation, unemployment, and maternal mortality to effectively promote human capital development.

Mr Shettima urged the Akwa Ibom State 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 do the same.

“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.

It’s imperative, says Gov Eno

In his remarks, Governor Umo Eno said the human capital development plan became imperative because of 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 investing in the construction and equipping of primary healthcare centres. We are also providing quality education at both the primary and secondary levels,” he said.

Mr Eno said the state government plans to construct model secondary schools in the state’s three senatorial districts.

He said the Ibom Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development Centre had trained and given start-up grants to at least 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 the initiative and commitment to national development.

“We appreciate the federal government for selecting Akwa Ibom as the first to launch the programme. This has shown that the president does not play politics with development.

Goodwill message

In a goodwill message, Nkechi Obi, the group managing director of Techno Oil Limited, said no meaningful development could take place without a deliberate and actionable roadmap.

Mrs Obi said that for development to take place, well-thought-out plans must be developed to address the critical challenges militating against human capital development.

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She said a human capital development plan was critical to the economic buoyancy of a country such as Nigeria and expressed Techno Oil’s commitment to ensuring a cleaner, greener, safer, and more friendly environment by producing quality cooking cylinders.

Mrs Obi said 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.

Earlier, Nathaniel Adiakpan, chairperson of the Akwa Ibom State Human Capital Development Council, said the plan represented a collective resolve to empower citizens through education, innovation, and creativity.

Mr Adiakpan said the comprehensive framework was designed to address the unique needs of the citizens and communities.

(NAN)