A’Ibom presents N79m to aviation college students

The Commissioner for Education in Akwa Ibom State, Mrs Idongesit Etiebet, has presented a cheque of N79m to aviation students who gained admission into the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.

“Our students came out in flying colours in several competitions because of the quality of education in the state, and several schools were given a facelift in infrastructure, which is why accreditation was restored in various courses in all the state-owned tertiary institutions”, Etiebet said on Friday while presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries.

They include Wilson Ezekiel Wilson standard pilot Course -SP35, Daniel Priscilla Samuel, SP35, Edna Emem, Akpan, SP35, Udourom Michael Patrick, and Standard Air Traffic Control.

The commissioner, who commended Governor Umo Eno for pursuing education advancement with renewed vigour, however, faulted an investigative report in a local newspaper in the state, that former governor Udom Emmanuel diverted money meant for bursary and scholarships of students during his tenure as governor.

The newspaper reported that it sampled the opinion of ten undergraduate students between 2016 and 2019 from each of the five public institutions in the state who confirmed that neither bursary nor scholarship was paid during former governor, Emmanuel’s tenure.

“We sampled 10 persons who were undergraduates between 2016 and 2019 from each of the five public tertiary institutions in the state (University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State University, Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Akwa Ibom State College of Education and Akwa Ibom State College of Science and Technology). None benefited from either bursary or scholarship,’’ the newspaper said.

But speaking while faulting the report during the presentation of the cheques, the commissioner described the allegations against the former Governor as untrue.

She said that the immediate past Governor, Emmanuel performed creditably well in lifting the standard of education through students-friendly educational policies and welfare programmes, which saw the students from the State excelling in national and international competitions.

Etiebet said, “Two days ago, a newspaper carried news stating that I granted an interview where I said that the immediate past Governor didn’t do anything in the Education sector.

“I want to say that I didn’t grant any interview, my Permanent Secretary is here, and the information officers are here. At no point did we have any interview with any Media house on Education in the last administration, that report was totally untrue.

“Former Governor Emmanuel granted scholarships to indigent students, subsidized school fees in state-owned tertiary institutions, sponsored several categories of students in specialized fields, notably maritime safety, aviation and meteorological studies, to training within and outside the country.

“Our students came out with flying colours in several competitions because of the quality of education in the State, and several schools were given a facelift in infrastructure, which is why accreditation was restored in various courses in all the State-owned tertiary institutions, and it is really unfair for any journalist to come out and castigate the previous administration in Education.

“Government is a continuum, and Governor Umo Eno is pursuing Education advancement with renewed vigour, awarding scholarship and bursaries, building model schools and buying shoes, bags and books for school children.”