By John Ogunsemore
The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, has announced plans to establish a model secondary school with state-of-the-art boarding facilities in each of the three senatorial districts of the state.
The governor made the announcement at the February 2025 edition of the Government House monthly Covenant Service at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo.
Eno said this would involve adopting an existing secondary school in each of the three senatorial districts and reconstructing them to suit the purpose.
The governor reiterated his commitment to completing the abandoned International Conference Centre (which, on completion, would be renamed Ibom International Conference Centre, IICC) and the 14-storey Tropicana Hotels at the Tropicana Entertainment Centre, to be completed within the same time frame.
He said this is geared towards realising the tourism potential of the state as well as ensuring that projects initiated with the commonwealth of the people by his predecessors are made valuable to the people.
Eno said the schools would be to Akwa Ibom State what Unity Schools are to the Federal Government and would be a model of an ideal boarding school.
He added that he was constituting a delivery team to ensure timely implementation of the plan.
According to Eno, a strong Parents-Teachers Association and a special committee would be in place to ensure the smooth operation of the schools.
However, he stressed that parents would have to pay a prescribed fee for the feeding of the children, which must be done and proof of payment presented as a precondition for a student to be granted access to the hostels.
On criteria for admission into the school, the governor explained that a special consultancy firm would be contracted to conduct a very transparent entrance examination that will ensure merit as the basis for admissions.
“We have several projects that must kick off and we must finish as we go into 2026.
“Principal among them that God has touched my heart to do is to construct a replica of what a boarding school used to be in this state in those days and to adopt three secondary schools, one in each senatorial district, to really take them back.
“Let’s build those boarding houses and put everything there, and let’s make sure those three secondary schools are up and running.
“Admission will be by all our children gathering in a central location to write exams, and only the best will be admitted.”