By Emma Ogoigbe, Warri
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has described education as the most powerful tool for the country’s transformation and development.
Oborevwori took the position today in Warri during the official commissioning of eight classroom blocks built by oil infrastructure security services company, Tantita Security Services, and donated to the Warri Correctional Centre.
The Governor, who was represented by the State Commissioner for Higher Education, Professor Nyerovwo Tonukanrin, explained that within the correctional facility, the presence of the classroom blocks is not merely an academic exercise but a lifetime ownership issue.
According to him, the blocks provide the platform for literacy programmes, vocational training and academic pursuit.
He stressed that the project aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly on quality education, and the State government’s MORE Agenda.
Earlier, Managing Director (MD), Tantita, High Chief Kestin Pondi disclosed that the Correctional Centre also houses a Study Centre of the National Open University, for inmates.
“Tantita believes is not only about projecting assets and others but it is also involved in investing in human lives and rebuilding the destitute.
“Besides, we are shaping a better future for our society.
“The Nigerian Prison Service is one of the oldest institutions in Nigeria way back to 1862, a year after the colony of Lagos was proclaimed by the British as a counterpart towards the establishment for the colony,” he said.
According to him, the shift in nomenclature from Nigeria Prison Service to Nigeria Correctional Service was not just a change of name ”but a deliberate shift in philosophy, from punishment to rehabilitation and from stigma to dignity.”
Also speaking, Assistant Controller of Correctional Services, Mr. Kingsley Njoku, commended Tantita for bringing hope to the inmates, thus making life more meaningful in the centre generally.
PHOTO CAPTION: High Chief Pondi delivering a speech on the occasion.
