A’Ibom govt to partner international bodies to boost education development

Akpan Umoh, Uyo

The Akwa Ibom Government says it will partner with international bodies to stimulate development in the area of education that will be beneficial to the citizens of the state.

The Deputy Governor, Mr Moses Ekpo, said this when the management of Topfaith University, Mkpatak and representatives of Western Kentucky University, Re-Focus Africa Group and Knowledge First, an American educational foundation, paid him a courtesy visit in Government House, Uyo on Wednesday.

According to Ekpo, education is an integral part of the Completion Agenda of the Gov. Udom Emmanuel administration, adding that government attaches great importance to the sector in view of its potential for human capacity development of the people.

He assured of the government’s commitment to collaborate with the international bodies and work together for mutual benefits for the educational development in Akwa Ibom and Nigeria.

“Topfaith is dear to the state because of the kind of education it is impacting on the children, who are the leaders of tomorrow,” Ekpo said.

The deputy governor said that a good foundation of learning for any child is pertinent to the growth of that child. 

Ekpo applauded Topfaith university for its efforts in helping to interpret the dreams of the government, by ensuring that the people of Akwa Ibom state were educated.

He noted that the visit would provide hope for the people of Akwa Ibom and also open up the state to further global relationships and investments with the organisation.

Earlier, the Proprietor of Topfaith University, Dr Emmanuel Abraham, said that Topfaith University decided to collaborate with the three institutions as they share a common philosophy of influencing their environment through development.

Abraham, was accompanied by representatives from the Western Kentucky University, USA, Re-focus Africa investment organisation, Tanzania, and Knowledge-First Academy, Texas, USA.

He said that given the current global dynamics in education and the world economy, there was an utmost need to tap into the benefits and comparative advantages that Akwa Ibom has to offer to the world. 

The proprietor further noted that from his collaboration with the international institutions, it has become clear that Africa remains the centrepiece of world development.

He said the essence of the visit was to pay homage to the Government of Akwa Ibom state and to acknowledge its contributions to the growth of the Topfaith institution.

In a separate remark, the founder of Re-Focus Africa group, Dr Silas Sunshine, said that the group was a pan-African investment organisation, whose focus is to identify, develop, maximise and deploy potentials throughout Africa by connecting opportunities to resources.

He said the essence of his visit was to familiarise himself with developments in Akwa Ibom, to learn about the needs, expectations and aspirations of the state as his organisation’s investments span beyond education to other sectors like electricity, agriculture, real estate, media, sports, and mining.

“We look out for investment opportunities on the continent, we use our vast network of resources and partners to mobilise resources and investors to leverage on these opportunities with the singular aim to help and democratise access to wealth for our people in the continent,” he said. 

He said that the Re-Focus Africa group was interested in offering world-class opportunities to Africans, who desire to study beyond the shores of Africa at a very discounted rate.