Commissioner for Information, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Umanah.
By Anietie Akpan
The Akwa Ibom State Government has so far spent ₦10 billion on empowerment.
Out of this, about ₦2.4 billion only has gone to members of Support Groups, stressing that details of individual beneficiaries are available on the Group Dashboard of the portal.
Speaking during a live radio programme, Update Akwa Ibom on XL FM, the Commissioner for Information, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Umanah’s dismissed as false claims in some sections of the media that Support Groups which campaigned for Governor Umo Eno were directly allocated empowerment funds.
This was contained in a statement from the Ministry of Information made available to newsmen at weekend.
Umanah clarified that government only published aggregated figures of members of Support Groups who have individually accessed and benefitted from different empowerment programmes of the Governor Eno’s administration through the State’s digital portals.
“Support Groups were not given money. What we published was only combined data of members of Support Groups who benefitted from empowerment opportunities in the last two years,” he stated.
He stressed that details of individual beneficiaries are available on the Group Dashboard of the portal.
The Commissioner said “Governor Eno’s administration is deliberately tech-driven, which informed the creation of the Ministry of Science & Digital Economy, the first in the State’s history”.
He noted that this approach has already yielded results, citing the recent uncovering of over 3,000 ghost workers in the State Civil Service.
Umanah further revealed plans to establish 31 Youth-Friendly Digital Centres across the LGAs, to provide young people with access to technology and opportunities.
On the forthcoming Ibom 2025 State Sports Festival, the Commissioner said, the event is aimed at “discovering talents, fostering unity, and boosting the State’s economy through sports tourism”.
According to him, the Festival complements Governor Eno’s other initiatives, including the proposed Sports Academy, 9-hole Golf Course, and modern facilities at the ARISE Resort, which will position Akwa Ibom as a leading sporting hub in Nigeria.
