Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, will on Tuesday, June 3, receive the Associated Fellowship of the United Nations Institute for Training & Research award in Geneva Switzerland.
The award is given for his contributions in the Education sector placing Rivers state as the best state in Nigeria with 21st Century Educational facilities.
According to a statement signed by the state commissioner for Information and Communications, Ibim Semenitari, the award is also in recognition of Governor Amaechi’s outstanding contributions to United Nations Institute for Training and Research Programmes in Nigeria, and for promoting overall United Nations activities in the South-South geo-political zone of the country by provisioning of an outstanding facility that can house over 15 UN agencies in Port Harcourt.
According to UNITAR, Governor Amaechi is “recognized for his leadership in governance, infrastructural development, social economic development and distributional equity and justice.”
An elated Governor Amaechi, according to the statement, said that “As we enter the last lap of our administration, this award is a call to finish strong as it reassures us that we are on the right path.”
Besides the recognition the award bestows on the Amaechi administration, it has also positioned Rivers State on the global map of United Nation Offices thanks to the governor’s support to UNITAR programmes.
In the longer term, the presence of UNITAR would attract more UN agencies to Rivers State, says Larry Boms, UNITAR’s country director.
At the moment there are five United Nation agencies in Rivers State and it is generally believed that housing these agencies in Port Harcourt would open up job opportunities in the system for Rivers indigenes to get into international civil service, Boms said.
The UNITAR award entitles Governor Amaechi to a UN Certificate that bestows Diplomatic Immunity while on UN assignments.
Previous recipients of the fellowship have been mainly drawn from Professors Emeritus with huge academic records in research in global governance, security, social justice, development, and environment preservation.
The event will be held at offices of the UNASG/UNITAR Executive Director, as the UN does not encourage ceremonies outside the General Assembly, Security Council and other globalized conferences.
However, Semenitari said that the event, this time will be low key as a mark of respect to the over 200 girls abducted from Chibok, Borno State.
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