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30,000 youths receive ₦50,000 each as business start-up grants.
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₦1.69bn bursary disbursed as student allowance rises to ₦50,000.
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ARISE Palm Resort, Ibom Convention Centre, Oron Maritime Project near completion.
September 26, (THEWILL) – Akwa Ibom State Government has unveiled fresh investments in youth empowerment and tourism infrastructure, including the disbursement of ₦1.69 billion in students’ bursaries and ₦50,000 start-up grants to 30,000 young people across the state.
The development was disclosed on Friday by the Commissioner for Youth Development, Dr Ekerette Ekanem, and the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr Anieti Udofia, during a briefing on the achievements of Governor Umo Eno’s administration under the ARISE Agenda.
Ekanem said the Ministry of Youth Development, established as a standalone ministry in September 2024, had expanded interventions aimed at equipping young people with skills, business support and opportunities for self-reliance.
According to him, the government has constructed Youth Development Centres in Oron, Ikono, Etinan, Itu, Ibiono Ibom and Ikot Ekpene, with training already underway for the first batch of beneficiaries at the Oron centre.
He added that the state had launched the ARISE Tech Talent Accelerator Programme to provide young people with digital skills and internationally relevant certifications in areas including cybersecurity and Python programming.
Ekanem said the annual ARISE Youth Skill Week had also provided platforms for young entrepreneurs, with cash prizes awarded to dozens of beneficiaries across its first two editions.
He disclosed that the monthly allowance for National Youth Service Corps members serving in Akwa Ibom and Akwa Ibom indigenes serving outside the state had been increased from ₦5,000 to ₦20,000, benefiting about 98,000 corps members since August 2025.
The Commissioner further said the state had increased its students’ bursary from ₦20,000 to ₦50,000, with about ₦1.69 billion disbursed so far, while approximately ₦6.8 billion had been spent on examination fees for students between 2023 and 2026.
He added that the government had approved the recruitment of 7,000 young people into the state civil service, while village youth presidents had been verified across gazetted villages.
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On tourism development, Udofia said the ARISE Palm Resort remained the flagship tourism project of the administration, describing it as a transformation of a site previously affected by erosion.
He said the resort recently hosted a state banquet and was expected to be commissioned by President Bola Tinubu later this year.
Udofia disclosed that the state spends more than N900 million annually on the maintenance of its tourism assets, including the ARISE Palm Resort, Ibom Hotel golf courses, Unity Park, and Ibom and Ikot Ekpene plazas.
He said Unity Park was currently undergoing expansion with additional walkways and a food court, while the Ibom International Hotel and the 5,000-capacity Ibom Convention Centre were nearing completion.
The Commissioner also listed the Oron Maritime Infrastructure Project, which includes a ferry service linking Oron with Calabar and the renovation of the Oron Museum, among ongoing interventions designed to strengthen the state’s tourism and maritime economy.
He said renovation works had also been approved for the Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort.
Udofia further announced that the state’s annual Christmas festival had been rebranded Ibom Christmas Unplugged and would run from December 1 to January 1 under the theme, “A Taste of Akwa Ibom: Our Food, Culture and Heritage.”
According to him, the 2026 edition will introduce new attractions, including Ibom Kitchen, which will showcase indigenous delicacies, a celebrity night and the Mbopo Akwa Ibom indigenous beauty pageant.
He said the previous edition of the festival generated about 4,900 jobs across construction, security and other sectors.
The Commissioner said the administration’s investments in aviation, particularly the expansion of Ibom Air, and healthcare infrastructure, including the Ibom International Hospital, were also supporting the broader youth employment, tourism and economic development objectives of the ARISE Agenda.
Speaking exclusively to THEWILL, Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr Anieti Udofia, said
“Under the ARISE Agenda, we are deliberately repositioning tourism as an economic sector capable of creating jobs, attracting investment and preserving our cultural identity.
The projects we are developing are not merely physical structures; they are platforms for hospitality, entertainment, culture and enterprise.
With Ibom Christmas Unplugged and the new tourism facilities coming on stream, our objective is to create more opportunities for our young people while presenting Akwa Ibom’s unique food, culture and heritage to visitors from Nigeria and beyond.” He maintained.
