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| Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel |
The meeting of the Akwa Ibom State Government Executive Council was held on Tuesday, 23rd February, 2021 at the EXCO Chambers, Governor’s Office, Uyo.
The meeting which was presided over by HE the Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, had in attendance,HE the Deputy Governor, Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff, Head of the Civil Service, all Honourable Commissioners and Special Adviser. It commenced at 7 PM with the rendition of the National and State Anthems; the opening prayer was worded by Dr. John James Etim(HC-Power and Petroleum Development).
The Governor, sitting as Chairman-in-Council admonished members to apply diligence in all their official endeavours in order to increase efficiency, produce better results and curb unnecessary errors. He intimated that a lot of mega investment activities will birth in the state soonest and directed members to interface with youths and community leaders in their jurisdictions to cooperate with the investors when they arrive. He intimated that these investments will help reduce the unemployment problem in our state.
DELIBERATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
1. HC- Education presented a comprehensive Scholarship Proposal for Undergraduate and post graduate students. The proposal also created special packages for some professional courses and signposted the need for strategic scholarship awards in the areas of aviation, maritime, science and technology, in view of the opportunities these areas offer and our current comparative advantage. After extensive deliberations, Council resolved that HC-Education should incorporate the suggestions of members and re-present the memo at the next council meeting.
2. Council was notified of award of projects to the tune of 3Billion Naira to the Akwa Ibom State University, through the intervention of the Governor. The projects are to provide critical infrastructure in the university in line with the strategic development plan of the State Government for the University.
3. A proposal for the state’s involvement and beneficial participation in the Liberty Oil and Gas Free Zone was presented by HC-Trade and Investment. The proposal was deliberated and he was asked to incorporate the suggestion of members and re-present at the next meeting.
4. Status report on COVID-19 was presented by HC-Health. The issue of the state’s preparedness for vaccine reception was discussed and council resolved that the Ministry of health should track the global performance status and adverse reaction rate of all the vaccines currently being administered. Council commended health workers in the state, for their diligence in the fight against the dreaded virus.
5. Ibom plaza remodelling plan was discussed extensively and modifications suggested. HC-Culture and Tourism was directed to incorporate modifications and report back at the next meeting.
After exhaustive deliberations, the meeting was brought to a close at 12:56am with a closing prayer offered by Dr. Glory Edet(HC-Agriculture).
