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Soludo’s Wife Condemns Stripping of Female Corps Member by Vigilance Operatives

Soludo’s Wife Condemns Stripping of Female Corps Member by Vigilance Operatives

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Mrs. Nonye Soludo, has condemned the stripping and beating of a lady said to be a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the state.

A viral video of the incident has been flying on social media. The incident reportedly happened in Oba, Idemili North Local Government Area of the state, where the operatives were said to have invaded the corpers’ Lodge in search of internet fraudsters.

The video which showed the lady being beaten up by gun wielding operatives, while her dressed was torn as she wailed begging for mercy has attracted condemnation.

Wife of the governor described it as a disturbing sight, calling for investigation to ensure that those involved were brought to book.

Mrs Soludo said: “I’ve seen a viral video of the sad incident — reported to have happened in Oba, Idemili South LGA — involving men of Agunechemba security formation and a female corps member who is serving in Anambra State. 

“There’s no justification whatsoever for such an ugly and humiliating abuse. Such demeaning approach to law and order does not in any manner reflect our celebrated identity as a hospitable and peaceful people. It does not represent the humane philosophy of our administration, either.

“There are always rules of engagement in such situations, and they must prioritise dignity, civility, and respect. I find the Oba incident very disturbing and appeal to appropriate authorities that are already looking into it to take critical measures to not only entrench justice but to, most importantly, ensure that we do not see such worrisome scene ever again.

“Anambra’s image is priceless. We must guard it jealously,” she said.

Meanwhile, police authorities in the state said the operatives involved have been arrested, but the victim has not yet been traced.

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David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Mrs. Nonye Soludo, has condemned the stripping and beating of a lady said to be a member of the National
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Tension, Fear as Police Raid Homes, Destroy Properties in Bayelsa

Tension, Fear as Police Raid Homes, Destroy Properties in Bayelsa

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

Fear and confusion swept through Amarata, a bustling suburb community in Yenagoa the Bayelsa State capital yesterday following reports that a police officer was allegedly killed in the area, sparking a violent reprisal raid by security operatives.

Eyewitnesses said armed policemen stormed the Ompadec and Punch area of Amarata in the early hours of the morning, breaking into houses and shooting sporadically and spraying tear gas. 

Terrified residents, including women and children, reportedly fled their homes to escape the gunfire, leaving the neighbourhood deserted.

Mr. Priye Julius, a broadcaster with Radio Bayelsa, and Mr. Forsbray Inegha, a retired police officer, who confirmed the incident, said  their own homes were damaged during the raid. 

“They smashed our windows. Everybody is living in fear now because nobody knows what will happen next,” Julius said.

Some of the residents who spoke with our correspondent described the scene as horrifying and chaotic as children going to school were not spared by the rampaging policemen, stating that families had fled their houses to escape the gunfire. 

Our correspondent, who resides in one of the mini estates at Ompadec attacked by the police noted   two people identified as Osigwe Chibeueze Valentine and Micheal Edward, were forcefully taken away from the estate, adding that houses were broken into by the policemen, while  men and women were taken into custody by force.

He said: “These young men forcefully taken from my mini estate today at Ompadec Street. One is a businessman and his wife a banker with Access Bank, the boy works at the new Bayelsa park.

“A neighbour’s house window opposite my house was broken with gun butt, a POS stand was vandalised, many innocent people were arrested, houses destroyed, spread tear gas everywhere even school children were affected while residents run helter skelter for their safety.”

While residents continue to flee the scenes, community leaders who  have earlier refused to stop  the daylight robbery and cult killings in the area are now calling for restraint, urging both residents and security personnel to avoid further confrontation. They warned that any escalation could lead to widespread unrest in Yenagoa, the state capital.

The latest incident has, again, placed Amarata in the spotlight, raising urgent questions about security and governance in Yenagoa, the state capital 

Amarata has, over the years, earned a reputation as one of Yenagoa’s most volatile neighbourhoods after Swali, another suburb of the state capital, notorious for clashes between cult groups, rival gangs, and law enforcement officers. 

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Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa Fear and confusion swept through Amarata, a bustling suburb community in Yenagoa the Bayelsa State capital yesterday following reports that a police officer was allegedly killed in
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Yoruba Elders, Statesmen Tasked  to Intervene in  Alaafin, Ooni  Feud

Yoruba Elders, Statesmen Tasked  to Intervene in  Alaafin, Ooni  Feud

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

A non-governmental organisation(NGO), the Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro), has called on Yoruba elders, statesmen, and cultural custodians to rise above partisan or parochial leanings and intervene decisively on the current feud between Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade and Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

A feud has come up between the two monarch  over the  installation of an Ibadan business mogul, Engineer  Dotun Sanusi as Okanlomo of Yorubaland by Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi.

A statement issued in Ilorin, Kwara state capital yesterday by the PeacePro, signed by its  Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, said that the intervention of the Yoruba elders and statesmen became imperative as the  matter goes far beyond traditional rivalry and touches the very essence of Yoruba civilisation.

According to him, “the current dispute presents a unique opportunity to reorganise and reorder Yoruba leadership by establishing a global cultural leadership model with multiple layers of function, responsibility, and authority.”

Such a model, the group maintained, would redefine the relationship between major Yoruba thrones, prevent recurring conflicts, and reposition the Yoruba nation as a global cultural powerhouse with structured leadership.

Hamzat further noted that “Ife, as the cradle of Yoruba civilisation, cannot be replaced or prevented from playing its cultural leadership role, neither can Oyo’s Alaafin be relegated from its historic political leadership and heritage. 

“Both thrones, and others like them across the world, must be accorded their rightful place in Yoruba global leadership to foster growth, peace, and unity,” he said.

Hamzat described the Yoruba as a cross continental nation with significant influence across Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and beyond.

“Such a global cultural nation must have a clear order and hierarchy to preserve unity, heritage, and identity,” he said.

He  argued that  a sovereign court in Nigeria should not be burdened by cultural issues of history and heritage it cannot adequately resolve, since the dispute concerns not merely local traditional institutions but a global cultural order with deep historical and international dimensions

‘Ife and Oyo maybe small towns in South West Nigeria under their respective local government areas, but what they represent in global culture is far bigger,” Hamzat said.

PeacePro therefore, called on Yoruba elders, statesmen, and cultural custodians to rise above partisan or parochial leanings and intervene decisively.

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Hammed Shittu in Ilorin A non-governmental organisation(NGO), the Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro), has called on Yoruba elders, statesmen, and cultural custodians to rise above partisan or parochial leanings and intervene
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Benue Gov Urges Journalist to Embrace Agric for Better Tomorrow

Benue Gov Urges Journalist to Embrace Agric for Better Tomorrow

George Okoh in Makurdi

The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has presented improved Tenera oil palm seedlings to journalists in the state under the Benue Alia Palm Project, even as he urged journalists to go into agriculture for their future benefits.

The governor described the initiative as a sustainable economic intervention that will create jobs, boost industrial growth, and strengthen household incomes.

He made this known during the Congress of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Benue State Council, in Makurdi. Governor Alia, while speaking at the event, reiterated his administration’s commitment to laying solid foundations for Benue’s development through infrastructural renewal, access to clean water, improved electricity, modernised schools, and stronger health facilities. 

He emphasised that sustainable growth requires long-term investment in agriculture.

According to him, “These seedlings are not just gifts. They are the foundations of an economy that will feed industries, create jobs for our youth, and generate wealth for our families. Every palm tree planted today is a seed of prosperity for tomorrow.”

The governor announced several interventions for the NUJ, which included the settlement of the union’s outstanding N12 million dues to its national body, renovation of the NUJ House in Makurdi, with provision of a utility bus to ease the union’s mobility challenges, and also the consideration of weigh-in allowances for journalists in government-owned media organisations.

He further urged journalists to uphold truth and objectivity in their reportage, stressing that while constructive criticism is welcome, it should always point to solutions.

Governor Alia concluded by reaffirming his administration’s vision of transforming Benue from the “food basket of the nation” into the “industrial basket of Nigeria,” assuring  the journalists  that his government remains open to partnership with the media in shaping the state’s success story.

In his remarks, the NUJ Chairman, Comrade Bemdoo Ugber, expressed gratitude to the governor for empowering journalists with palm seedlings, describing the initiative as a bold step in wealth creation, food security, and agricultural diversification.

Ugber also applauded the administration’s infrastructural renewal, digital governance reforms, and efforts to restore security and dignity to displaced persons.

He, however, appealed for further support in renovating the NUJ House, provision of official vehicles, and approval of weigh-in allowances.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Agweye Agbenu, lauded the project as a sustainable path to economic independence, noting that the planned planting of six million hybrid palm trees will, in the near future, position Benue as a leading hub for palm oil production.

“This project has the potential to reduce dependence on federal allocations and lift thousands out of poverty. In years to come, other states will come to Benue to learn from this model,” Agbenu stated.

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George Okoh in Makurdi The Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has presented improved Tenera oil palm seedlings to journalists in the state under the Benue Alia Palm Project, even as
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NASS Seeks Distinct Salary Structure, Job Security for Legislative Aides

NASS Seeks Distinct Salary Structure, Job Security for Legislative Aides

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The National Assembly has called for a distinct salary structure for legislative aides serving lawmakers in both chambers, while also seeking safeguards against arbitrary termination of their appointments by their principals.

The call was made yesterday  in Abuja by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, at a three-day capacity-building training for legislative aides.

Ogunlana explained that although legislative aides are political appointees, their conditions of service are currently tied to the template of career civil servants, which does not reflect the peculiarities of their work.

“We are not unaware of the challenges you face. Unlike career civil servants, your appointments do not guarantee job security, tenure is largely dependent on your principals, and ranking is often not based on qualifications or competence,” Ogunlana said.

He noted that there was no comprehensive law or guideline defining the duties and responsibilities of the various cadres of legislative aides, a gap which, according to him, exposes them to arbitrary decisions and unfair treatment.

He said: “The present management believes it is time to address these systemic issues. 

“We are advocating that the National Assembly Service Commission and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission should consider developing a distinct salary structure and conditions of service that reflect the unique nature of your work. 

“We also believe the qualifications for appointments should be reviewed to attract competent and experienced personnel. Equally important is the need for mechanisms to prevent arbitrary termination of appointments by principals,” he stated.

Also speaking at the training, the Chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), Saviour Enyiekere, urged the aides to equip themselves with knowledge and skills that would make them more resourceful than their principals.

He said doing so would strengthen the quality of legislative outputs from both chambers of the federal legislature.

The training, organised by the National Assembly in collaboration with Research Enterprise Systems (RES), drew participants from various categories of aides, including Chiefs of Staff to the presiding officers, Special Advisers, and Senior Legislative Aides (SLAs) attached to lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives.

The federal legislature currently engages aides for all 469 lawmakers in both chambers, with the numbers running into several thousands.

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Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The National Assembly has called for a distinct salary structure for legislative aides serving lawmakers in both chambers, while also seeking safeguards against arbitrary termination of their
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‘Nigeria’s $10bn Food Import Bill Unsustainable’

‘Nigeria’s $10bn Food Import Bill Unsustainable’

Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has declared the country’s annual $10 billion food import expenditure unsustainable, calling for urgent diversification into agricultural exports to achieve food sovereignty.

Speaking at the FirstBank 2025 Agric and Export Expo in Lagos, Kyiari warned that Nigeria’s over-reliance on oil revenues leaves the economy vulnerable to global market shocks.

The minister, who was represented by  Ibrahim Alkali, said: “When oil prices shake, Nigeria trembles. When the Naira slides, food and fuel costs climb. But when agriculture thrives, Nigeria breathes easier.”

Kyari,  who  described the expo’s theme of building a non-oil export-driven economy as “a survival strategy for our nation,”  highlighted the paradox of Nigeria’s agricultural sector, which contributes 25 per cent to GDP and employs 35 per cent of the workforce, yet accounts for less than 0.5 per cent of global agricultural exports while the country imports basic commodities like wheat, rice, sugar, fish, and tomato paste.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu reinforced the urgency of economic diversification, stating that Nigeria must “move away from dependence on oil and build a resilient economy anchored on productivity, value addition, and competitiveness in the non-oil sector.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole, represented by the  Mrs Nonye Ayeni of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, emphasised the need to prioritise value addition and agro-processing to transform raw produce into globally competitive products.

FirstBank, which organised the expo, was commended for its agricultural finance leadership, with its portfolio growing by over N11.65 billion recently and accounting for more than 23% of participation in the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme.

The event showcased agricultural produce  ready for export, with the Niger State governor announcing his state’s commitment to partner with FirstBank and Lagos State in driving agricultural productivity and value addition.

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Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has declared the country’s annual $10 billion food import expenditure unsustainable, calling for urgent diversification into agricultural exports to achieve
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Omojuwa Named Jaiz Bank Ambassador After Rebrand

Omojuwa Named Jaiz Bank Ambassador After Rebrand

Writer and digital strategist, JJ Omojuwa is the new brand ambassador for Jaiz Bank Plc. The announcement was made on Tuesday on X, following the bank’s rebranding reveal on Monday.

At that rebranding event, Managing Director Haruna Musa called the transformation “a defining milestone” and said, “It is about who we are, what we stand for, and the future we are building.”

Company Secretary Mohammed Shehu added the refreshed logo and colors reflect “a renewed commitment to empowering individuals, businesses, and communities with smarter financial solutions.”

Meanwhile, prior to the announcement of his ambassadorial role, Omojuwa had earlier hinted at the partnership when he switched his display picture to yellow on Monday. The move quickly caught on, with hundreds of his followers doing the same in what could be described as a wave of yellow vitality across X.

In his own post on X on Tuesday following the announcement, Omojuwa reacted with modest pride, celebrating the announcement with his followers.

Reactions on X have been swift. Many users praised the choice, describing it as a masterstroke. Posts under the announcement thread also revealed a wave of new customer pledges, with several young professionals and entrepreneurs sharing that they had opened accounts or planned to do so. The platform buzz reflects how strongly his influence resonates with younger, digitally active Nigerians.

In a separate announcement, Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa was also announced as another brand ambassador.

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Writer and digital strategist, JJ Omojuwa is the new brand ambassador for Jaiz Bank Plc. The announcement was made on Tuesday on X, following the bank’s rebranding reveal on Monday.
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Nigeria’s ₦4 Trillion Electricity Bailout: Lifeline or Recurring Cycle?

Nigeria’s ₦4 Trillion Electricity Bailout: Lifeline or Recurring Cycle?

By Ugo Inyama

Nigeria’s approval of a ₦4 trillion ($2.61 billion) debt refinancing plan for its troubled electricity sector is both bold and necessary. The intervention seeks to clear nearly a decade of arrears owed to 27 power generation companies—debts that have crippled liquidity and discouraged investment since 2015 (Reuters, 2025a). By issuing bonds through the Debt Management Office, the government hopes to ease immediate pressure and restore confidence. Yet the deeper question is whether this bailout signals genuine reform or simply extends a recurring cycle of debt and rescue.

The electricity sector’s challenges go far beyond unpaid bills. Eleven years after privatisation, generation remains stuck at an average of 4,000 megawatts daily—barely enough to power a mid-sized city, let alone a nation of over 220 million people. Gas shortages, grid collapses, and vandalism persist. Distribution companies, expected to be the commercial backbone of the sector, are financially distressed, with more than half currently under receivership (Reuters, 2025b). For businesses, the outcome is an overreliance on costly diesel generators; for households, it is erratic supply that undermines quality of life.

The government has presented this bailout as part of a broader reform package. Alongside the refinancing comes a 35% reduction in subsidies and tariff adjustments for urban consumers. These measures are projected to save more than ₦1.1 trillion annually and create conditions for financial sustainability (Reuters, 2025c). The logic is straightforward: a sector dependent on subsidies cannot attract serious private capital. Yet the risks are evident. Nigerians, already squeezed by inflation, currency depreciation, and high living costs, will expect tangible improvements in electricity supply as we move towards cost-reflective tariffs, without progress, reforms risk being viewed as added hardship rather than meaningful solutions.

History also tempers optimism.
• In 2017, the ₦701 billion Payment Assurance Facility (PAF) was launched to cover GenCo debts.
• In 2019, another ₦600 billion intervention followed.
• In 2020, a ₦1.5 trillion CBN power sector intervention was rolled out during the COVID-19 recovery programme.
• In 2021, an additional ₦140 billion loan was announced, targeted at mass metering.

Each of these efforts provided temporary relief but failed to address fundamental weaknesses: weak regulation, policy inconsistency, and poor enforcement. The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) reports that ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) owe distribution companies over ₦200 billion in unpaid electricity charges, undermining liquidity and weakening reform efforts (ANED, 2023; Punch, 2024). The result was predictable—arrears piled up again, dragging the sector back into crisis. This culture of MDAs and other politically protected entities failing to pay their electricity bills sends the wrong signal to consumers and discourages compliance across the system. Unless today’s much larger bailout is anchored by credible reforms and stronger governance, it risks becoming yet another temporary patch.

The broader development stakes make success imperative. Reliable electricity is not simply a utility but the backbone of growth. It powers factories, drives innovation, and keeps hospitals and schools functioning. Every blackout inflates the cost of production and undermines competitiveness. The World Bank (2021) estimates that Nigeria loses $29 billion annually due to unreliable power. No serious diversification or industrialisation agenda can succeed under such conditions. For Nigeria’s economy to grow beyond oil, stabilising the power sector is indispensable.

For the Federal Government, this bailout is both opportunity and test. It signals seriousness in addressing a long-standing obstacle, but it also raises expectations among citizens, investors, and international partners. Success could unlock long-delayed investment and mark a turning point in Nigeria’s reform trajectory. Failure, however, would deepen public cynicism and reinforce the perception that the power sector is trapped in cycles of bailout and relapse.

Ultimately, the ₦4 trillion bailout should be seen as both lifeline and warning. It offers critical relief, but it cannot be mistaken for a solution in itself. Nigeria must pair this intervention with stronger governance, stricter regulation, and transparent accountability. Without these, the cycle of crisis and rescue will persist. What the country needs is not another patch, but a sustainable path forward that finally delivers the electricity to power its economy and transform lives.

• Ugo Inyama writes from the African Digital Governance Centre, Manchester, UK

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By Ugo Inyama Nigeria’s approval of a ₦4 trillion ($2.61 billion) debt refinancing plan for its troubled electricity sector is both bold and necessary. The intervention seeks to clear nearly
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Gov Eno Sets New Leadership Standard

Gov Eno Sets New Leadership Standard

By Anietie Usen

Forget about the multiple awards given to Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State by leading media organisations in Nigeria and beyond. For a moment, forget also about the recent ‘Governor of the Year Award 2025’, presented to Governor Eno by the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF.

For now, let’s go back to the basics to catch a glimpse of how this Governor drives his massive and ambitious developmental projects and programmes in his ever-rising sub-national on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

Perhaps if there is any government structure in the Executive branch of Eno’s Administration more important than the State Executive Council, it must be the monthly State Project Delivery Committee meeting. It is an informal structure, created from out of the blue by Governor Eno himself to suit his hands-on style of leadership.

For two days every month, Governor Eno locks up, nearly round the clock, his entire Cabinet, Delivery Officers along with key political stakeholders inside the premium Banquet Hall of the Government House. Only a brief lunch break is permitted and served on the spot. The duty of the Project Delivery Committee meeting is to critically evaluate the status of each project and programme being executed by the Administration.

It is usually a tense and sometimes unfriendly meeting. No jokes. Every Commissioner, Delivery Officer or project supervisor must be on top of his game to meet the high standards and demands of the Governor. He must also be able to convince the gathering, with facts, figures, pictures and videos that satisfactory progress and time lines are being made in each project and programme of the government.

Each Commissioner, sometimes in collaboration with the Delivery Officer, takes turns to make a PowerPoint presentation beamed on a massive HD digital screen for everyone to see. Often, it turns out to be the platform where the capacity and competence of the project and programme leadership is tested.

The presentation shows the status of the project or programme the previous month, the progress accomplished during the month under review, next steps, timeliness and challenges, if any. The contract sum of the project, mobilisation, project start and end dates, milestones and deadlines must not be left out. The purpose is to transparently plan, coordinate, monitor and track progress together with stakeholders over a specific period of time.

It is innovative. It has succeeded extensively in carrying along a cross section of the State leadership on the aggressive infrastructural development that Governor Eno is spearheading. It has also won the hearts of key stakeholders for Governor Eno, who is perceived as a transparent and inclusive leader that emphasises shared decision-making, participation and teamwork.

“We have never seen governance at this detailed and high level in this State and I have been around long enough to know”, Senator Effiong Bob, the Political leader of Uyo Senatorial District said in the July 2025 Project Delivery Meeting. It was the view that virtually all stakeholders shared at the July meeting.

“This is clearly one of the best ways to harvest knowledgeable inputs into project governance, keep project administrators and contractors on their toes and accomplish your project targets in time for the people who elected you into office. This is why Akwa Ibom State will continue to make quantum leaps in all indices of development”, Assam Assam, SAN, former Nigerian Ambassador to Russia, said also in the July 2025 stanza of the State Project Delivery Meeting.

But no one foresaw that the August edition of the State Project Delivery Committee would take a strange dimension. Instead of gathering stakeholders inside the Government House Banquet Hall as usual, Governor Eno surprisingly moved the all important meeting to project sites across the State. It was time to see first hand the projects that most stakeholders had been seeing as pictures on screens and publications.

For two hectic days, August 14 and 15, 2025, stakeholders led by Governor Eno, dressed in jeans, casual shirts and facecaps, rolled up their sleeves, jump into several buses that cut down the number of vehicles on the convoy and traversed the length and breadth of the State to inspect and evaluate first hand the actual status of many multi-billion naira projects.

“This is management by working around, MBWA”, the Governor told journalists who for two days trailed him to all 23 sites of major projects. By MBWA, he was referring to a management style popularised by David Warren, the former CEO of Motorola, where leaders intentionally spend time outside their offices to engage with the workforce rather than relying solely on formal communications channels.

In two days of MBWA with key stakeholders, Governor Eno, his cabinet, Delivery Officers and key stakeholders visited the sites of the Medical Village, Ibom International Hospital, the Elderly Citizens Centre, the CNG/Citi Bus Terminal, ARISE Shopping City, Ibom International Convention Centre/Hotel, Judiciary Village, the Security Command & Control Centre, AKBC House, Ibom Model Farm, Ibom Equipment Leasing Company, Ibom Aviation Village, International Terminal of Victor Attah International Airport, Airport Clinic, and the Incredible ARISE Resort, described by many as a “Wonderland”, where a ravaging erosion devastated landscape has been “miraculously” turned into a world class resort and tourism trap.

“You must be able to physically see your projects on the ground, beyond the briefings you are receiving in the office… So, we have visited 23 project sites in two days, and we have not even reached half of the projects we need to see. But the truth is, this gives us an on-the-spot idea of the actual progress we are making”. Governor Eno told journalists at the end of the two-day project inspections.

With the entire State virtually turned into a massive construction site, the ripple effect was noticeable everywhere the Governor and his team went. “In all the sites we have visited, what excited me so much, as you saw it yourselves, is the number of young people that these projects have engaged and impacted positively. Everywhere we went, we were received by crowds of young men and women working on construction sites, be they engineers, skilled workers or unskilled workers. In fact, there is a site where we have female civil engineers as Managing Directors of their respective companies. This gives me that joy that we are simultaneously and gainfully employing our youths, while embarking on many legacy projects…I feel very happy”.

According to the Governor: “These projects and the employment they generate… are my rewards to Akwa Ibom people…They are my gifts to the 354,000+ people who voted for me to provide good leadership to Akwa Ibom State… And that’s what we are doing”.

The recent Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of ARISE Agenda, published last month, with the Minister of National Planning and Director General of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, in attendance, indicates that a total of 49,901 persons have so far been employed in the last two years of Umo Eno Administration. Skilled and unskilled labour employed at various project sites stand at 26,950 jobs, representing 85% employed persons between May 2023 and July 29, 2025.

The innovation of a high level Project Delivery Committee meeting that has increased the pace of project delivery in the State has not only been beneficial to the unemployed youths alone. The entire Cabinet of the Governor as well as the heads of government departments and agencies have gained enormously from the project delivery meetings.

For one, the project delivery meetings have become the veritable leadership training and mentorship venue for most members of the project delivery committee. Opportunities where aides understudy their leaders abound. The way the project delivery meetings are run include several key scenarios and roles that enhance leadership development and organizational continuity.

Equally important, the project delivery meetings provide the opportunity for peer review mechanism, whereby members of the committee assess the work or performance of their colleagues or peers, which helps them to improve and control the quality of work they handle thereafter.

In this milieu, the leadership style of Governor Eno is pivotal and to many, predictable. He is firm and fair. In other words, he is strict and consistent in upholding rules and expectations, but also considerate and accommodating, earning loads of respect in the process. Said one new Commissioner: “This man is good. I have learnt a lot about leadership in my few months here than all my academic life. He is unique and effective. He breaks the mold. Certainly, a new era of our State is in the making before our eyes. Can you imagine Akwa Ibom landscape when all these projects are completed in a few years’ time?”

*Aniete Usen writes from yo

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By Anietie Usen Forget about the multiple awards given to Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State by leading media organisations in Nigeria and beyond. For a moment, forget also
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