14/09/2026
Akwa Ibom: Let Development Indices, Not Blackmail, Define the Campaign
By Lucy Daniel
Akwa Ibom State has entered a political era in which development can no longer be hidden behind propaganda, emotional blackmail or sensational rhetoric. The people are increasingly able to see, feel and measure the impact of governance in their communities.
This is the age of development indices.
It is the age of evidence, intellectual engagement and sound minds.
Political campaigns in a modern society should be anchored on records, measurable achievements and the real experiences of citizens. In Akwa Ibom, the administration of Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, Ph.D., has provided an abundance of development indicators against which its record can be assessed.
The education sector is particularly instructive.
Through the A.R.I.S.E. Agenda, and now its expanded ARISE 2.0 vision, Governor Eno has placed human-capital development at the centre of his administration's priorities. His approach recognises a fundamental truth: a government that invests in the education of its people is investing in the future prosperity, stability and competitiveness of the state.
The result is an education story that extends from the classroom to the welfare of teachers, from primary schools to tertiary institutions, and from Akwa Ibom to the international educational community.
Teachers are the backbone of every education system, and the Eno administration has demonstrated considerable commitment to their welfare.
The government has intervened substantially in the payment of gratuities and other entitlements owed to retired teachers and workers. Billions of naira have been released for gratuities involving retired primary school teachers, while other welfare interventions have included teachers' wardrobe allowances and leave grants.
These interventions carry a profound human meaning.
Behind every gratuity payment is a retired teacher who spent productive years educating Akwa Ibom children. Behind every welfare package is a recognition that those who dedicated their lives to building the state's human capital deserve dignity in retirement.
This is development with a human face.
The regular payment of teachers' salaries and the sustained attention to their welfare have also contributed to creating an environment in which educators can concentrate on their professional responsibilities.
Governor Eno's education philosophy is therefore not simply about constructing buildings. It recognises the teacher as an essential component of the learning process.
The continuation of free and compulsory education at the primary and secondary levels remains one of the most significant social interventions in the state.
For thousands of Akwa Ibom families, free education represents more than a government policy. It is an economic relief programme.
The Eno administration has complemented free education with support for examination fees. In 2026, the Governor approved ₦1.968 billion for examination-related expenses covering WASSCE and other examinations, including NABTEB, Common Entrance, BECE, promotion examinations and entrance examinations into specialised schools.
The significance of such intervention is best understood through the experience of ordinary families.
At a time when household expenses continue to place pressure on parents, government intervention in education costs means that children from less privileged homes can remain in school and sit for important examinations without their parents carrying the entire financial burden.
That is the difference between announcing an education policy and making education accessible.
One of the distinctive features of the Eno administration has been the international exposure being created for Akwa Ibom students.
Through the ARISE Educational Exchange Programme with the London Borough of Southwark, students from public secondary schools have had opportunities to experience educational systems beyond Nigeria.
More than 271 brilliant students have been selected for the programme, while an earlier cohort of Akwa Ibom students travelled to the United Kingdom under the ARISE Edutrip initiative.
For a child who has grown up in a rural or modest household, international educational exposure can be transformational.
It expands imagination.
It introduces new possibilities.
It allows young people to see that their circumstances do not have to define the limits of their dreams.
The Governor's investment in such exposure reflects an understanding that education in the 21st century must prepare young people not only for examinations but for participation in an increasingly interconnected world.
Across Akwa Ibom, the administration has embarked on the construction and development of modern educational facilities, including Model Primary Schools and Model Secondary Schools across the three senatorial districts.
The objective is to provide learning environments that reflect the dignity and potential of the children who use them.
Modern classrooms and improved educational infrastructure provide a more conducive environment for teaching and learning, while the broader investment in school facilities demonstrates that infrastructure remains an important component of the administration's education agenda.
The transformation is visible in communities where new and renovated educational facilities have changed the physical appearance of schools and renewed public confidence in the education system.
The Eno administration's educational interventions have extended into tertiary education through the state bursary programme.
In 2026, the bursary was increased from ₦20,000 to ₦50,000 per student, with ₦1.3 billion committed to the scheme.
The importance of this intervention is reflected in the testimonies of beneficiaries.
A 300-level University of Uyo student, identified through the state bursary platform as Iniobong E., described the direct financial support as a major relief to the family. Another beneficiary, Nsikak O., a 500-level medical student, explained how professional-course support helped provide essential textbooks and academic materials.
These testimonies demonstrate the practical value of government policy.
For a student from a financially challenged home, educational support can mean the difference between struggling to remain in school and having the resources necessary to continue the academic journey with greater confidence.
The administration has also demonstrated an inclusive approach to education by extending financial support to students living with disabilities.
The establishment of an Education Trust Fund for students with disabilities, alongside bursary interventions for physically challenged students, reflects an important principle of governance: development must reach people across different circumstances and abilities.
This inclusive approach strengthens the social character of the ARISE Agenda.
It ensures that education is not treated merely as a privilege for those who can afford it, but as an instrument of opportunity capable of lifting people from different backgrounds.
The transformation of the former College of Education, Afaha Nsit, into the Akwa Ibom State University of Education represents another significant milestone.
The institution provides an opportunity to strengthen the state's teacher-training architecture and produce educators equipped for the demands of contemporary classrooms.
This is strategic.
A state that wants strong schools must have strong institutions producing and developing its teachers.
The upgrade therefore fits naturally into the broader educational philosophy of the Eno administration, where investment in infrastructure is accompanied by attention to human capacity.
The experience of successful education systems around the world reinforces the importance of the direction being pursued in Akwa Ibom.
Countries such as Finland and Singapore have demonstrated the value of investing in teachers, professional development, strong institutions and educational standards.
Singapore, in particular, has built a globally respected education system through sustained investment in teacher quality, professional development and evidence-based educational practice.
Akwa Ibom's emerging education model reflects several of these principles: support for teachers, investment in infrastructure, international exposure for students, financial assistance for learners and institutional strengthening.
The state is therefore not operating in isolation. It is positioning its young people within a global educational environment while addressing local realities.
The education record of the Eno administration is ultimately a story of interconnected interventions.
Free education reduces the financial burden on families.
Examination support keeps children within the educational pipeline.
Teacher welfare strengthens the people responsible for delivering instruction.
Modern schools improve the learning environment.
Bursaries support students in tertiary institutions.
International exchange programmes broaden the horizons of young people.
Support for students with disabilities promotes inclusion.
The University of Education strengthens the pipeline for future teachers.
Together, these constitute a development index that is difficult to reduce to political rhetoric.
The numbers tell one part of the story.
The testimonies of beneficiaries tell another.
The physical projects provide another layer of evidence.
And the cumulative effect is visible in the growing opportunities available to Akwa Ibom's young people.
The transition from the original A.R.I.S.E. Agenda into ARISE 2.0 represents an opportunity to deepen the development philosophy that has characterised Governor Eno's administration.
The first phase established a foundation across education and other sectors.
The next phase builds on that foundation.
For Governor Eno, education is not simply one item on a list of government activities. It is part of the larger effort to create citizens capable of contributing meaningfully to the state's economy and future.
This explains the administration's simultaneous attention to schools, teachers, students, skills, international exposure and institutional development.
It is a holistic approach to human-capital development.
There is nothing wrong with political competition. Indeed, healthy competition strengthens democracy.
But political competition becomes more meaningful when it is based on facts.
In an increasingly educated and informed society, citizens can distinguish between propaganda and experience.
A parent whose child attends a government-supported school has an experience.
A teacher who receives salary and benefits has an experience.
A retired teacher who receives gratuity has an experience.
A university student who receives a bursary has an experience.
A young person who travels abroad through an educational exchange programme has an experience.
These experiences form a powerful body of evidence.
They represent development beyond political slogans.
This is why the politics of Akwa Ibom must increasingly be understood through the lens of performance.
Blackmail cannot erase a school building.
Propaganda cannot cancel a bursary.
Political noise cannot invalidate a teacher's welfare payment.
And rhetoric cannot make beneficiaries forget the assistance they have received.
The strongest campaign for any government is ultimately the visible impact of its policies on the people.
The case for a second term for Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, Ph.D. is therefore increasingly rooted in performance.
It is a case built around roads and schools, healthcare and social protection, agriculture and economic empowerment, but also around something less visible yet more consequential, the development of human beings.
His administration has shown that government can combine physical infrastructure with social investment.
It has demonstrated that the welfare of teachers matters.
It has demonstrated that poor families deserve educational support.
It has demonstrated that talented students from public schools can be exposed to international opportunities.
It has demonstrated that tertiary students deserve support.
It has demonstrated that children living with disabilities should not be forgotten.
And it has demonstrated that institutions responsible for producing teachers can be strengthened.
These are not abstract political claims.
They are development indices.
Akwa Ibom has long possessed a reputation for education, enterprise, faith and intellectual capacity. The state's next political chapter should reflect that heritage.
This is no longer the era in which political campaigns can be sustained indefinitely by empty propaganda and emotional blackmail.
The people are watching.
They are comparing.
They are experiencing government programmes directly.
They are measuring the difference between promises and delivery.
The most compelling political narrative is therefore the one written in classrooms, on school grounds, in teachers' homes, in students' lives and in the futures of young people.
Governor Umo Eno's education interventions provide substantial evidence of a government that has chosen to invest in people.
That is the enduring lesson of the ARISE Agenda.
And that is why ARISE 2.0 offers a credible platform for taking the gains of the present administration further.
For Akwa Ibom, the choice is increasingly clear: development over distraction, evidence over propaganda, intellect over insults, and performance over blackmail.
The future belongs to those who build it.
Under Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, Ph.D., education has become one of the important building blocks of that future, and the record is already speaking for itself.
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Daniel, SA to the Governor on Media
Writes from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
[email protected]
