The Ibeno Community in Akwa Ibom has commenced the building of an International Model School with Mobil’s Palliative fund of N1.3b to the area.
The Paramount Ruler of Ibeno Local Government Area, Chief Effiong Archianga disclosed this while speaking with Royal Fathers, youths and women of the community in his Palace on Tuesday.
According to him, 25 per cent of the fund had been release through consultant to commence the project.
He said that the project would be completed by 2015.
“When Ibeno International Model schools are completed, we want to embark on Ibeno International University of Law, Science and Technology.
“So that we now have our children behind us tomorrow, to prepared for the day oil will finish.
“We need to have such edifice here so that the Federal Government, State Government and Mobil will be lured into developing that school,’’ he said.
He said that training would not be for Ibeno people alone but for children of Akwa Ibom and International community would be involved.
He commended Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom for making Mobil to pay the palliative fund to the core oil communities.
He said that Mobil paid N600million as palliative fund to Ibeno community in 2010.
“In that bitter experience, some people absconded with the Money, they were not able to complete the project and some projects also under- performed.
“That is why I said nobody should be given the money to carry out any contract, we resolve through a collective decision.
“The current palliative fund of 1.3b is not paid to me as the chairman of the technical committee, but the cash is paid to consortium under consultancy.
“Mobil gave me letter to intimate me that such money was paid to the consortium.
“Some projects were appropriated through the consultant because we recommended contractors to them. The consultants now sit with the secretary of the committee, to realm with the projects costs,” he explained.
Chief Achianga further said that part of the funds would be used to train 50 youths on ICT.
According to him, the youths were selected by Traditional Rulers and other sectors of the community to bring one person, per village to the Programme.
The Royal Father said that the fund used in building the International Model Schools is through paper work and not physical cash.
The Ibeno International Model Schools would comprise of Nursery, Primary and Secondary School.
He decried that there was no meaningful schools in Ibeno, except Government Primary School in the area.
He wondered how the area could be blessed with Oil and cannot boast of quality schools for their children.
“We have resolved to move to the site to see the structure and we agreed to handover the site of the projects through the consultant and jobs are allocated to interest groups in the community,’’ he said.
Archianga said that the decision to make the job go round no matter how small was help to add value to lives of the community members.
“Apart from building schools, coastal buses, fishing accessories, gears, and other equipment would be bought and distributed to fishermen in Ibeno.
“We want to carry everybody along, we want to create a new record so that by the time we leave, nature and posterity will ever bless us.”
He refuted the allegation that the Consortium E&T is owned by him, saying that the firm is not owned by the Traditional Chiefs.
He advised various interest groups that would be involved in the project to utilize the funds which would be released towards the projects.
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