Education
Ugwuanyi’s Aide Offers Scholarship To 35 Indigent Students
Ugwuanyi on Youth Affairs, Mr Johnpaul Anih, has offered scholarship to 35 indigent students from Akpugo community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The beneficiaries of the scholarship, which will cover three academic terms, were drawn from three secondary schools — the Government College, Agbani; Technical College, Obinagu-Uwani, Akpugo, and Akpugo High School, Akpugo.
Speaking at the launch of the scholarship, tagged: “Johnpaul Anih Education Support Scheme’’, Governor Ugwuanyi yesterday urged the residents of the community to continue to support all government programmes meant to better their lives.
The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Mr Manfred Nzekwe, commended Akpugo people for their continued support for the administration.
“I thank the community and its major stakeholders, especially people of Ward 5, over the tremendous support you are giving to the present administration in the state.
“I will urge you to continually support this administration and more dividends of democracy would surely come your way,’’ he assured.
Earlier, the Founder of the scholarship scheme, Anih, who is also an indigene of the community, assured that the scheme would be sustained so as to afford the less privileged opportunity to achieve their educational dreams.
He said the scheme was part of his contribution to support and consolidate on the policies and programmes of Governor Ugwuanyi, whom he said had touched the lives of the people.
Speaking, the traditional ruler of Ndiagu-Owa Akpugo, Igwe Innocent Ogbodo, commended the philanthropic gesture demonstrated by their illustrious son, Anih.
Ogbodo charged other well-meaning individuals in the community to emulate Anih so as to improve the general well-being of people in the community.
“Akpugo community is passing a vote-of-confidence on its son, Johnpaul Anih, and declaring total support to Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration,’’ he said.
Highlights of the event were a visit to an abandoned borehole in the community as well as cash and bags of rice donation to members of the PDP.
A professor of Highway Engineering at the Rivers State University (RSU), Prof. Emmanuel Osilemme Ekwulo, has identified poor designs, inadequate materials, insufficient testing, and lack of accountability as major obstacles to the success of highway construction projects in the country.
Ekwulo made this remark in Port Harcourt last Wednesday during the 128th inaugural lecture series of the university, where he presented a lecture titled “Removing Roadblocks: Rebuilding a Foundation for Reliable Highway Pavement Infrastructure.”
The university don lamented the consistent premature failures of road construction projects nationwide, despite huge investments by the government at all levels, attributing the problem to neglected basics and systemic principles in the industry.
According to him, rebuilding the foundation technically, institutionally, and ethically is crucial to building strong and lasting pavements.
Ekwulo emphasized the need for political will, professional integrity, and commitment to engineering excellence to overcome the challenges.
“The metaphoric roadblocks are those challenges causing premature failures,” Ekwulo said, adding that identifying and addressing these roadblocks is key to rebuilding the nation’s highways.
He recommended that institutions involved in road design and construction adopt a mechanistic-empirical design approach, and develop a comprehensive framework for implementing the Nigerian Imperial and Mechanistic Pavement Design System (NEMPADS) approach.
Ekwulo also advocated for mandatory traffic load analysis, strengthened university-industry collaboration, and funding for applied pavement research.
Corruption, he noted, is a major challenge in the profession, saying severe punitive measures are needed to curb shabby practices leading to premature road failures.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described Ekwulo’s lecture as interesting and intriguing, highlighting the importance of implementing solutions to Nigeria’s highway challenges.
The Vice Chancellor also described Ekwulo’s proposals as practical and applicable to government and industry stakeholders.
He said the university is committed to research aligned with national development goals, referencing its NDV-12 responsive consortium production framework.
Zeb-Obipi noted that Ekwulo’s recommendations are timely and solution-driven, and will contribute to addressing Nigeria’s highway challenges.
Akujobi Amadi
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