By Solomon OKPO | The Evangelist News Desk
The Eket EMOIMEE Host Communities Development Trust (HCDT) has presented its scorecard of interventions across Eket Local Government Area, highlighting projects in education, healthcare, transportation, skills acquisition, electricity, water supply and youth empowerment.
The Trust disclosed that a total of 35 civil projects were executed under its 2024 programme, including interventions in eight primary schools and three health centres spread across the three geopolitical zones of the local government area.
The beneficiary primary schools are St. Gregory’s Primary School, Ikot Ebok; QIC Primary School, Okon; QIC Primary School, Odio; St. Paul’s Primary School, Ikot Ibiok; Government Primary School, Hospital Road, Ikot Ebiyan; Primary School, Idung Iniang; Main School, Afaha Eket; and Primary School, Ikot Abia.
The health facilities that benefited from the intervention include Mary Slessor Primary Health Centre, Effoi; Primary Health Centre, Idua; and Primary Health Centre, Nduo Eduo.
Beyond infrastructure, the HCDT said it supplied 150 double-seater desks to each of the eight primary schools, in addition to tables and chairs for teachers and head teachers. The Trust also provided a 500KVA transformer connected to the PHED 24-hour grid line to Immanuel General Hospital, alongside borehole water facilities and solar-powered security lights to strengthen healthcare delivery.
On education support, the Trust reported that 876 students received scholarships for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 academic sessions, while 473 students are projected to benefit in the 2025/2026 session in tertiary institutions.
The transportation sector also received attention, with the HCDT providing 43 minibuses, 30 tricycles and 28 motorcycles as part of efforts to improve mobility and economic activities within the host communities.
In youth development, the Trust disclosed that 180 youths were trained in 2025 across four areas: oil and gas maintenance and operations, ICT, fashion design, and cake making and pastries. The beneficiaries included 40 trainees in oil and gas, 40 in ICT, 40 in fashion design and 60 in cake making and pastries.
For the 2026 skills empowerment programme, the Trust plans to train 188 youths drawn from the 14 wards in Eket Local Government Area. The programme will cover ICT, fashion design, catering, hairdressing, barbing, and mid-level oil and gas maintenance operations.
According to the programme, 40 youths will receive ICT training, 40 fashion design, 40 catering, 20 hairdressing and 20 barbing, while 28 indigenes will undergo mid-level oil and gas maintenance training.
The HCDT further disclosed that beneficiaries of the skills programme would receive ₦500,000 each alongside starter packs, while oil and gas trainees would receive assistance towards internationally recognised offshore certification. It added that 40 offshore documents had already been facilitated for the 2025 trainees, with similar support planned for the 2026 beneficiaries.
The Trust also outlined its 2025 civil projects, which include road grading, interventions in four secondary schools, upgrading and equipping health centres at Odio and Afaha Atai, construction of the Eket Model Market at Esit-Urua in collaboration with Eket Local Government, as well as connecting the School of Nursing and Psychiatric Hospital, Eket, to the PHED 24-hour grid line.
Looking ahead, the HCDT said it would seek the approval of its Board to standardise the equipping of three health centres completed under the 2024 civil projects. It also earmarked ₦300 million for agricultural investment, indicating a broader focus on economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods.
As part of its next phase of intervention, the Trust said Government Primary School, Ikot Udota, would be considered for inclusion in its programmes.
The Eket EMOIMEE HCDT appealed to stakeholders and members of the host communities for patience, assuring them that the benefits of the Trust’s interventions would progressively reach all parts of the 72 villages in Eket.
The Trust acknowledged the increasing public scrutiny surrounding its activities and pledged to sustain regular engagement with stakeholders, while upholding best practices in project execution, accountability and financial reporting.
The scorecard, according to the HCDT, is intended not only to account for projects already delivered but also to provide stakeholders with a clearer picture of its continuing intervention programme across Eket communities.
