An oil and gas company, Moni Pulo Limited, has donated a fully furnished information and communication technology (ICT) centre to students at the Community Secondary School Unyenghe in Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom state.
Speaking during the official commissioning of the project, Thursday, the chairman of Moni Pulo Limited, Dr. Sienye Lulu-Briggs, noted that as the world is shifting to information technology, the gesture becomes imperative to impart knowledge on students.
She said, “Moni Pulo has had a long and very healthy and symbiotic relationship with the people of Mbo local government area. We have been working hard to leave positive footprints.
“This, it believes will ameliorate the Niger Delta region’s economic challenges and reduce the incidences of youth restiveness.
“Our passion springs from our belief that policy-level support for job creation should focus primarily on human capacity building.
“For us, there is only one way to work with our communities and that is the ethical, caring, inclusive and mutually co-operative way. Thanks to this approach to community engagement, Moni Pulo has come to be known over time, as “the Good Neighbour.
“Despite the socio-economic challenges that we, like everyone else, have had to weather, we have continued to invest in the wellbeing of our host communities through empowerment exercises, educational support and sustainable development projects.
“We have done and will continue to do this because we know that ultimately our work is about people, the men, women, youth and children of Mbo. Yes, you matter a lot to us, and it is for this reason, we will continue to commit to your wellbeing and development irrespective of the challenges that may exist,” Lulu-Briggs stated.
The firm further appealed to the state government to use its poverty alleviation machineries to explore other potential and viable entrepreneurial initiatives to alleviate poverty among the teeming rural poor.
In his good will message at the occasion, the Akwa Ibom state commissioner for Petroleum and Environment, Dr. John James Etim, described the donation of the ICT center as a noble project, adding that it will broaden the understanding of the students in the information technology.
Etim, represented by Emmanuel Inyang, a director in the ministry, said the action of the firm is in line with the vision of Governor Udom Udom Emmanuel, on human capacity development, educational endowment, healthcare delivery, infrastructure development and peace maintenance.
The commissioner for Education in AkwaIbom state, Mrs Idongesit Etiebiet, appreciated Moni-Pulo for the project, adding that “the future is in technology and only computer literates can compete.”
