•Governor Eno (R) and Prof Gambari
Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has again urged Nigerians to queue behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as he works tirelessly to address the challenges facing the country.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by officials of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), led by its founder, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, an internationally renowned diplomat who rose to the position of Under-Secretary General, Political Affairs of the United Nations, and later served as Chief of Staff to the immediate past President of Nigeria, the late Muhammadu Buhari, the governor said although the country has been through a lot of challenges, President Tinubu is working tirelessly to address them.
“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 appreciated Prof Gambari for showing interest in his administration’s ARISE Agenda.
He noted that Akwa Ibom State has been working to deepen peace and security, adding that the state was developing its tourism assets including the ARISE Palm Resort, smart Airport, hotels and other assets geared towards advancing its aspiration of becoming a major player in tourism within the Gulf of Guinea.
“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 work out modalities for synergy in the necessary areas.
The governor commended Prof. Gambari for his service, stating that his life has been a story of high accomplishments, from his role as an academic, to being Nigeria’s Minister for External Affairs, now
Foreign Affairs, to his career with the United Nations where he rose to the position of Under-Secretary General, Political Affairs, and then as the Chief of Staff to late President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.
Earlier in his address, Prof Gambari thanked Governor Eno for the warm reception and unique hospitality and ambience of the state.
He commended the governor for his enormous strides and positive impact recorded since he mounted the saddle of leadership of the state, a little over two years ago.
Prof. Gambari said his visit to the state was to introduce his organisation, Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, which according to him is involved in conflict resolution, peace and social development.
He highlighted the roles of the organisation to include human capacity training for both senior management staff and the permanent secretaries at the Federal and State Civil Service across in Nigeria.
Prof. Gambari was accompanied by the Executive Director of SCDDD, Sani Saulawa Bala, and another official of the centre, Mr. Ibrahim Ahmed.
On hand to receive the team with the Governor were the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah, Executive Assistant/Chief Delivery Advisor, Mr Aniefiok Johnson; Dean College of Commissioners, Hon. Frank Archibong; and other members of the State Executive Council.
