…As Renaissance, NCDMB pour over $6m into GTC in PH, but insecurity stares in the face
Most persons that pass through Slaughter Roundabout in the north part of Port Harcourt on the eastern flank say they no longer recognize the fronts of the once decayed Government Technical School (GTC).
The fronts use to be a summit of shanties while the inside of the school featured many decayed buildings that once stood as workshops.
Few years ago when officials of the SPDC inspected the school, it was almost an eyesore. Sections were so empty and dilapidated that sources said kidnappers used such sections to do business while learning was going on at the other segment.
Now, with over $6m so far sunk into the upgrade scheme, an official said it is like tunring the crumbled workshops into modern laboratories. The place is ready to becaome a world class technical centre, the sensitive equipment is already in the warehouse. One this remains, the assurance that they would not be vandalized the next day after installation.
For this reason, on Thursday, November 6, 2025, the Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited and the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) who has formed a partnership to provide a world class technical centre in Nigeria, invited stakeholders including the community leaders, ministry officials, secondary school management board, and many others, to branstorm on how best to safeguard the expensive equipment being installed there.
In his welcome speech, Lanre Olawuyi, General Manager, Nigerian Content of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, said on no account would the oil company drop such huge investment there only for it to be vandalized the next day.
He thus said: “This is not just a formal meeting, but a family meeting. It is a covenant moment. It is the turning point where a project led by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited and the NCDMB becomes a legacy truly owned by the people of Azuabie.”
Calling it a vision realized, Olawuyi said over the past few years, both organisations have invested more than $6 million. “But this project was never just about money, resources, or expertise. It was about a promise. A promise to every parent in this community that your children would have a place to build a world-class future, right here at home.
“What was once a group of crumbling workshops is now a campus of modern laboratories.”
Showing how the place was transformed, the manager said they brought brought in digital tools, business training, and a new solar power system. “We are 90% complete. But this is more than new buildings. This is the foundation for a new generation of skilled graduates, ready to build a stronger community for us all.”
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He then brought up what he called the critical challenge, being the threat to the shared future. “And yet, as we stand at the finish line, a serious challenge threatens to stop us. We have to be honest about it: Security.
“The persistent issues of vandalism, theft, and encroachment are not small problems. They are a wall between us and our goal.”
He tried to paint the picture well for all to see what the threats could cause. “Let me be clear: We have brand-new, state-of-the-art equipment, the final tools for your children’s training, sitting in a warehouse. We cannot bring them here. We cannot install them. Not until we all know that they will be safe.
“To get this project done, we must solve this security threat together. And we must do it now.”
The solution, he said, is in forming a team with shared responsibility to the shared ownership.
He said: “True security for this college doesn’t come from a fence, and it cannot be outsourced to a few guards. It comes from the heart of the community. It comes from every one of us.
“We cannot hand over this multi-million-dollar asset only to see it neglected or destroyed. We need this community to truly own it.
“When you see GTC equipment, I want you to see your own family’s asset. When you hear of vandalism, I want you to feel it as an attack on your own children’s future. When you protect this school, you are protecting your own home.”
He went on as the hall went dead. He asked for community protection and ownership charter. “That is why, today, we are not just talking, we are committing. The Community Protection & Ownership Charter is our promise to each other. It is a formal pledge by everyone in this room—the School, the Government, the Security Agencies, and most importantly, the Azuabie Community—that we stand as one.”
They must commit to the following: “We will have zero tolerance for theft and vandalism; we will practice Active Surveillance and share information to keep our school safe; and we will take Joint Responsibility for protecting this investment for our children, and their children.”
By signing this charter, he stated, “We are sending a powerful, united message: This is our school. This is our future. And we will protect it.
“This signed commitment is the key. It’s what allows us to finally release that equipment and bring this project home.”
He concluded with a call to action, saying: “My friends, the buildings are built. The tools are ready. The vision is alive. The only thing missing is our collective, public promise. Our resolve.
“Let us seize this moment. Let us sign this Charter, not as a formality, but as a heartfelt declaration that we are in this together. Let us secure the future of every single young person who will walk through these gates. Together, let us protect this legacy. Together, let us build our shared future.”
Reactions for action:
The first to jump onto the arena for action was the number one citizen of the Port Harcourt Local Council Area, Alwell Ihunda, who called it a great project.
He explained the meaning of what was being installed in Port Harcourt, saying that his administration was ready to partner with the partners.
On security, he called for visit to the Rivers State Secondary Schools Board for engagement so the state government could be brought in.
On calls for action on the shanties at the fence areas, he promised action with immediate effect. “We must protect investors in our midst.”
Speaking, the NCDMB represented by Abayomi Bamidele, Director, Capacity Building Directorate, said the Board was all about development, focusing on the people, assets, and goods made in Nigeria.
He said there was need to intervene in quality of education to produce industry-ready manpower.”
Dappa Emmanuel who represented Azibaolanari Uzoma-Nwogu, the permanent secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Education, commended Renaissance and the NCDMB, noting that education remains the foundation of any nation.
He said the Ministry was ready to play its own part in protecting the world class facility. He called on the LGA authorities to take the issue of security as a priority, assuring that the state government would help. “Let the quality of the project be very high.”
The Rivers State Secondary School Management Board which was represented by Nwisabani Bani on behalf of Anthony Egrugrugwu, the executive chairman, said equipping schools was uppermost on their minds. He commended Renaissance.
The world class centre now has an ICT unit with enough computers, agric workshop, fundry, welding unit, solar power system, etc.
The police team said they would not talk in the open but at a closed door session which began after the opening ceremony. Parents of students already studying there are now excited, saying a place they thought was to keep their children busy has transformed into a world class centre with huge hopes for the once-disregarded children.
