The South-South Development Commission (SSDC) has commenced moves to establish a stronger and more structured partnership with universities across the region as part of efforts to harness research, innovation and human capital for sustainable development.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Ms Usoro Akpabio, stated this on Friday, September 11, 2026, during a strategic engagement between the SSDC and Vice-Chancellors and representatives of federal universities across the South-South region at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Speaking at the forum, held at the Council Chambers of the University of Uyo Main Campus, Akpabio described universities as critical partners in the Commission’s quest to develop practical and sustainable solutions to the challenges confronting the region.
She stressed that the vast intellectual resources within the region’s universities must be deliberately connected to the development agenda of the SSDC.
According to her, universities should be “among the first places we look for solutions, not the last places we have to visit for consultation.”
The SSDC chief executive noted that the South-South was blessed with enormous human and material resources, but stressed that transforming these resources into sustainable opportunities required deliberate investment in knowledge, research, innovation and skills.
She said the Commission was particularly interested in building partnerships that would translate academic knowledge and research into practical interventions capable of improving the lives of people across the region.
Akpabio also identified the region’s young population as a major asset that could be harnessed through targeted training, innovation, enterprise development and human-capital programmes.
She called for closer collaboration with universities in areas including research, innovation, skills acquisition, enterprise development and human-capital development, noting that such partnerships would help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real-world development.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Professor Christopher Nyong Ekong, who hosted the engagement, called for stronger collective engagement between universities in the South-South and government and development institutions.
Professor Ekong noted that universities were not only centres of teaching and learning but also reservoirs of knowledge, research and innovative ideas capable of providing solutions to the region’s peculiar challenges.
He advocated increased investment in research, human-capital development and centres of excellence, particularly in areas addressing the developmental needs of the South-South.
The Vice-Chancellor also emphasised the importance of scholarships and training programmes that would equip young people, academics and researchers with relevant knowledge and skills while encouraging them to deploy such expertise to the benefit of their communities.
The engagement featured a strategic conversation on “Universities as Partners in Regional Development,” during which participating institutions presented their areas of strength, research capacities, expertise, facilities and innovations that could support the SSDC’s development agenda.
Participating institutions included the University of Uyo; Federal University of Agriculture and Technology, Obio Akpa; Federal University of Technology, Ikot Abasi; University of Calabar; University of Benin; Federal University of Petroleum Resources; and Federal University, Otuoke.
The SSDC management team at the engagement comprised the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ms Usoro Akpabio; Executive Director, Social Services and Human Capital Development, Engr. Preye Aganaba; Executive Director, Commercial and Environmental Development, Hon. Joseph Ugheoke; Akwa Ibom State representative on the SSDC Board, Dr. Nkereuwem Ebong; and the South-West representative on the Board, Dr. Bukola Braimoh.
The engagement provided a platform for the university leadership and the SSDC to exchange ideas on research, innovation, scholarships, skills development, enterprise and community-oriented initiatives.
The meeting was followed by a tour of the University of Uyo Permanent Site, where the SSDC delegation inspected selected facilities and ongoing development projects.
The engagement marked a significant step towards building a more practical relationship between the Commission and the South-South university community, with both sides expressing commitment to partnerships capable of converting the region’s intellectual, human and material resources into tangible development outcomes.
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