Akwa Ibom State Government says more than 4,000 youths have so far been trained in various skills as it expands its human-capital development drive with the commissioning of an ARISE Youth Development Centre in Nsit Atai Local Government Area.
The centre, located at Odot, the council headquarters, was commissioned on Wednesday as Governor Umo Eno’s administration intensified its push to equip young people with vocational, digital and entrepreneurial skills capable of supporting self-reliance.
Represented by the State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Obong Stephen Ntukekpo, Governor Eno said the facility was conceived as a strategic intervention to provide young people with practical skills and opportunities beyond conventional academic education.
He said youth development must encompass digital competence, entrepreneurship and vocational training to prepare young people for changing economic realities and enable them to create sustainable livelihoods.
The Commissioner for Youth Development, Dr Ekerette Ekanem, described the centre as a hub for practical skills acquisition and entrepreneurship, saying its establishment demonstrated the administration’s emphasis on human-capital investment.
Ekanem disclosed that the state had already trained more than 4,000 youths in different skills, placing the newly commissioned facility within a broader programme rather than as an isolated infrastructure project.
Ntukekpo said the centre would help expand access to digital, vocational and entrepreneurial opportunities and contribute to building the skilled workforce required for Akwa Ibom’s industrial ambitions.
Chairman of Nsit Atai Local Government Area, Hon. Anthony Nyong, thanked the governor for locating the facility in the council headquarters and listed other recent interventions in the area, including the Model Primary School commissioned at Ikot Akpabio.
The representative of the Nsit Atai youths, Comrade Kingsley Akpan, pledged that young people in the area would maximise the opportunities provided by the centre.
The Paramount Ruler of Nsit Atai, Edidiem Prophet Peter Okon Effiong, urged beneficiaries to protect the facility from vandalism and use the opportunities it provides to build productive futures.
