Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has urged indigenous professors to deploy their intellectual resources, research capabilities and professional expertise to accelerate the state’s development.
Nwifuru made the call on Friday in Abakaliki at the maiden Development Dialogue organised by the Ebonyi Professors Forum (EPF).
Represented by his deputy, Mrs Patricia Obila, the governor described professors as key drivers of societal development, noting that their knowledge, experience and research capabilities were vital to the state’s progress.
He said their contributions to research, innovation and policy formulation would help the government tackle developmental challenges and improve residents’ living conditions.
Nwifuru expressed the state government’s readiness to partner with the forum, noting that its vision aligned with his administration’s Charter of Needs.
The dialogue, themed “Ebonyi at 30: Yesterday, Today and the Future,” featured panel discussions by distinguished professors on critical sectors of the state’s economy.
Earlier, the National President of the forum, Prof. Philip Omoke, said the organisation was established to harness the intellectual resources, research capacity and professional expertise of Ebonyi indigenes in academia for the state’s development.
Omoke described the forum as an independent, non-partisan platform designed to bridge the gap between academia, government, the private sector, civil society and development institutions.
He said its mandate included translating research findings into policies, providing evidence-based solutions to developmental challenges, promoting inclusive economic growth and strengthening accountable governance.
In his keynote address, Dr Joe Abah recalled that Ebonyi State was created on October 1, 1996, from parts of the former Abia and Enugu states, with 13 local government areas and Abakaliki as its capital.
He noted that the state’s distance from established commercial centres, including Onitsha, Aba and Port Harcourt, had posed economic challenges.
According to him, the Abakaliki Rice Mill, established in 1960, was the only functioning industry in the state at the time, while some institutions had branches originating from neighbouring states.
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Despite these challenges, Abah expressed optimism about Ebonyi’s future, urging professors to apply their research and professional expertise to unlock the state’s economic potential.
The Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Fidelis Ogah, commended the organisers for initiating the dialogue and urged them to uphold integrity in pursuing the forum’s objectives.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Secretary of the forum’s convening committee, Prof. Eugene Nweke, said the initiative was aimed at mobilising academics of Ebonyi origin to contribute to societal development.
“As professors, we are endowed with knowledge and expertise in all areas of life.
“It is our responsibility, in line with academic principles, to contribute to societal development,” Nweke said.
Nweke, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Ebonyi State University (EBSU), described the forum as non-political, adding that it was established to support efforts to address the developmental challenges facing the state.
