Rivers govt trains helicopter engineers at Eastwing Aviation Institute

The Rivers State Government has trained 10 youths as helicopter engineers at Eastwing Aviation Institute in Enugu.

The programme, which offers full sponsorship to qualified Rivers State indigenes, requires applicants to have an AME license and provide documents proving their indigene status.

Stanley Pepple, coordinator in charge of the selection process, said Siminalayi Fubara, governor of the state, decided to use state funds to back the beneficiaries’ training in AW139 Engineering. This decision was driven by the need to boost economic development, skill acquisition, technological advancement among Rivers’ youths, and job creation.

“The requirements were simply asking those who had an AME license to come forward with documents stating they are indigenes of Rivers State,” Pepple said.

He said that 10 indigenes of Rivers State have benefited from the programme and completed their training at the Institute.

According to him, the selection process was fair as advertisements were published in the media calling for youths from Rivers State to submit their documents for assessment.

“The Governor is concerned about youths in Rivers State. His initiative is to ensure the availability of skilled professionals to meet industry needs, foster economic growth for families, and position Rivers State as the leader in aviation development,” he explained.

Christopher Edeh, CEO of Eastwing Aviation Institute, expressed his gratitude to the Rivers State governor for the partnership.

“I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the Governor of Rivers State for empowering the youths through the scholarship programme. Our students are benefiting from this goodwill, having commenced their training a few weeks ago,” Edeh said.

Edeh said the programme would continue with the next batch of the training set to commence soon, adding that the initiative will position Rivers State as a hub for aviation training and expertise, and address the looming shortage of pilots and engineers.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.