Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has implored youths of the State to develop themselves in skills and professional areas that are critical to their employability, and relevant in providing solutions to myriads of challenges in the contemporary society.
The Governor gave the charge today during the opening ceremony of the 2025 International Pastors’ Conference at Insight Bible Church, Uyo.
“The truth is, this is a human capital development programme; and looking at it realistically, the world is in short supply of human capacity. Whether in ministry, politics, management, and so on, we are really in short supply of capable men.
“In our State currently, there are some vacancies to be filled in some specific areas, and our people need to rise up to these needs. We are seriously looking for Special Assistants on Climate Change, Carbon Credit, Blue Economy, and the likes, not some kind of general purpose personnel.
“There is a dearth of serious capacity in critical areas in the State, and our youths and our people should rise to the occasion by developing themselves in critical skills and professional areas of our present societal needs,” he said.
The Governor commended the Coordinator of the programme, Pastor Sylvanus Ukafia, for his commitment and consistency in organizing quality training for Pastors and church leaders across the country for years.
“We thank God for the grace that He has given to Dr. Ukafia and the Insight Bible Church to carry on this Pastors’ Conference since 1999.
“I don’t know of any other church leadership in Akwa Ibom State that has been consistent with pastors’ training and leadership conference like this. So I thank you,” he said.
Pastor Eno reiterated the need for Pastors to be effectively trained or updated on the necessary knowledge and skills in order to deliver excellently on their assignments as church leaders, social influencers and transformers.
“As Pastors, we need pastoral training because if a pastor is well trained and sound, he would be able to stand the test of time to impact the necessary knowledge and experience on the people.
“No matter how much a leader, like us, knows, when he comes to a church, he listens to his Pastor. He expects the Pastor to help him in sound counselling, motivation, and superior ideas to function well in his leadership position,” he said.
Earlier, Pastor Ukafia commended the Governor for his exceptional support and commitment to ensuring that the conference was a success.
Pastor Ukafia acknowledged the leadership philosophy of the Governor, describing it as remarkable and exemplary.
The opening ceremony of the five-day conference, with the theme: “Modelling Christ,” was graced by members of the State Executive Council, pastors and church leaders from across the State.
