Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke(m) flanked by The General Manager of GE Global Chain for Africa, Mr. Phil Griffith, Commissioner for Education, Prof. Offiong Offiong (R), Tamlah Oates-Forney,Human Resources Manager AND SA Investment Promotion, Mr. Gerald Adah
From: Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
The Cross River State Government and General Electric (GE) Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build a training facility at the Government Technical College, Ikot Effanga, Calabar.
The training which would cost $1.2million will be used to build capacity for its manpower needs and that of the state government.
According to the MoU signed at the Council Chambers, GE will build and equip the facility while the state government will see to the day to day running of the facility in a joint partnership.
Governor Lyle Imoke who described the occasion as an important step in the right direction, said: “We have watched GE’s commitment to development and its deliberate effort to ensure Cross River remains in its main stream.
“We have noticed its adverts for procurement in the dailies to ensure Cross Riverians are given opportunity to participate and this commitment is two ways because it stands to benefit both GE and the state.”
According to Imoke, the MoU is a reflection of GE’s belief in Cross River State as a safe place for investment, stating that resources to be developed at the facility would compete with any other in the world.
He urged the people of Cross River to key into the initiative because of available opportunities to Cross Riverians especially its young men and women.
The Governor assured that the state would continue to create an environment conducive for GE and other investors to thrive in the local economy, as according to him, it was the only way to develop the local resources.
“This is the beginning of many projects by GE and we are excited to be stakeholders,” he noted.
He said the building of the facility was in line with the state’s vision of building Cross River Institute of Technology and Management at Ugep.
“It is important to know and understand what we have gotten into and what benefits we stand to get. All relevant ministries, departments and agencies should give their support to ensure it survives. The decision to get into this agreement is good for the state and we will not regret and we will ensure the full participation of the state to ensure its success.
The General Manager of GE Global Chain for Africa, Mr. Phil Griffith, who said they were excited about the market in Nigeria and the role they have played in the market, assuring that the facility would create an economic hub for Nigeria and other countries.
According to Griffith, ”We are not only bringing technology and good practices, our objectives are not only to create opportunities but develop people to participate practically because we are putting internationally accepted equipment in place.
“The curricular are such that the students, on graduation, with the right coaches, can meet international standard because we are determined to develop young people to meet universal requirement, not only in Nigeria but throughout the world.”
Earlier, the Special Adviser Investment Promotion, Mr. Gerald Ada, said the facility was part of GE’s corporate social responsibility strategy for building strong partnership with the state, stressing that it was the first of several other initiatives being planned.
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