GOVERNOR UDOM EMMANUEL WINS BEST GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR 2016 AWARD

GOVERNOR UDOM EMMANUEL WINS BEST GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR 2016 AWARD

Unyime  LEO

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, while receiving the award,  task all Nigerians occupying Public offices to imbibe the spirit of selfless service in Leadership.

He made this known on Friday during his appreciation speech, after the Leadership Newspaper honoured him with the prestigious "Best Governor of the year 2016 Award" , in an event well attended by dignitaries and top government functionaries at Abuja.


Mr. Udom expresses delight to the management of the Leadership Newspaper for selecting him  As the Best Governor of the Leadership Newspaper year 2016,  and stated that a true leader is not Notice when he/she uses maximum resources to achieve high, but when uses minimum resources to achieve maximum . Governor Udom Emmanuel equally echoed that the strength of the Nations Economy depends on the Strength of the Nations Democracy.

Mr Emmanuel at the event propounded a strong leadership quote  which state "We were given the mandate not for an applause but for selfless service". These further emphasis that indeed he was spotted out for the Award through his performance and a show of his  monumental achievements.

The Publisher of the Leadership Newspaper; Sam-Ndah Isaiah as well as other speakers expressed satisfaction In the Leadership qualities visible in the life of Governor Udom Emmanuel of  Akwa Ibom State.

Unyime Leo is Public affairs analyst and a Social Entrepreneur.
0816991

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND STRATEGY CONGRATULATE GOVERNOR UDOM EMMANUEL AS HE BAGS THE LEADERSHIP GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR 2016

Congratulations

AII over the world, recognition is given to deserving individuals who have distinguished themselves and provided qualitative leadership in several capacities within and outside their circles of Influence.

Your sterling qualities, outstanding performance and remarkable strides in implementing sustainable development initiatives in Akwa lbom State despite the challenges of dwindling resources, have evidently not gone without notice.

Your recognition as the 2016 Leadership Newspaper Governor of the year serves to buttress this point.

Congratulations Sir on this monumental achievement which is not only a well-deserved recognition but another deserving feather in your cap of achievements. May God continue to guide and direct you in your determined quest
to make Akwa lbom State an investment and tourist destination of choice through your sustainable developmental
programmes

Please accept my sincere best wishes from all of us at the Akwa lbom State Ministry of Information and Strategy.

Charles Udoh

Hon. CCommissioner

#UdomEmmanuel
#GovernorOfTheYear

PRESIDENT BUHARI DIRECTS CBN, FINANCE MINISTRY ON REFUNDS TO STATE GOVERNMENTS

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT BUHARI DIRECTS CBN, FINANCE MINISTRY ON REFUNDS TO STATE GOVERNMENTS



President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to act appropriately and with dispatch in releasing the second tranche of the London-Paris Club refunds to the states in order to ease their financial hardships.

The President, who addressed the meeting of the National Economic Council made up of State Governors and chaired by the Vice-President on Thursday in Abuja, however, made a strong case for settlement of unpaid salaries and pension liabilities of their workers.

“I will not rest until I address those issues that affect our people.  One of these basic things is the issue of salaries.  It is most important that workers are able to feed their families, pay rent and school fees, then other things can follow,” he said.

President Buhari, who went round the Council Chambers to greet the governors one after another, praised the unity of the Forum of State Governors. He thanked them profusely for their display of “love and respect” to him.

The President said he was overwhelmed by his recent experience in which states, irrespective of political differences charged their citizens to pray in mosques and churches for his well-being and apologized to Governors for barring them from visits to him while he rested in London.

“I didn’t want government to move to London. I wanted it to remain here and I am glad it did,” he said.

After narrating what he went through while on that vacation, President Buhari noted the suggestion by the Governors for him to add more rest, but insisted that he would remain relentless in the pursuit of the interest of the Nigerian people at all times.

This, according to him, was the only way to show his gratitude to the people who, he said, “had given so much to me.  I was overwhelmed by the celebration of my return all across the country.”

The Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Abdul-Aziz Yari of Zamfara State assured the President, on behalf of his colleagues, that they will continue to support his policies and actions which they had adjudged as being in the nation’s best interest.

The governors of Imo, Akwa-Ibom, Osun and Abia States thanked President Buhari for saving the day for states through the first tranche of the London-Paris Club refunds while calling for the immediate release of the second one.

They also commended the trust the President reposed in the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, whom they said did not disappoint when he acted as President.

GARBA SHEHU
Senior Special Assistant to President
(Media & Publicity)
March 16, 2017.

Females Leaders and Nurturing Competencies: Governor Udom's Aide On Student Affairs, Comrade Aquilla Otobong Akpan a life Model

Females Leaders and Nurturing Competencies.

Aquilla Otobong Akpan a life Model

The majority of people we talk with make the assumption that women will excel at nurturing competencies such as developing others, inspiring and motivating others, relationship building, collaboration and teamwork.

Statistics demonstrates that these competencies are more positive. But those competencies with the largest positive differences are taking initiative, displaying integrity and honesty, and driving for results. These are nurturing competencies.

These competencies highlight that women were seen as more effective in getting things done, being role models and delivering results. These skills describe leaders who take on difficult challenges, ensure that people act with integrity, and who simply achieve challenging results.

My current fact pattern becomes even more intriguing when i analyzed various functional areas within an organization. Here is what the data showed:

I found it interesting that in the traditional male bastions of sales, legal, engineering, IT and the R&D function; women actually received higher effectiveness ratings than males. Many of our stereotypes are obviously incorrect. Again, the concern about women not being able to perform well in those functional areas is resoundingly refuted by the data. Only in facilities management and maintenance do they not do well.

Finally, as women move up the ladder in an organization, the higher they move the more positively they are perceived.

Unyime Leo Hnd a public affairs analyst and a social entrepreneur Wrote in From Eket.

08169915861

UDOM EMMANUEL: bridging the divide!

UDOM EMMANUEL: bridging the divide!

...a vision without execution is mere Hallucination.

Contrary to the nursed, earlier and Judged opinion, views, perception and comments made out of careless tongues against the emergence of Gov. Udom Emmanuel when he landed like a gallant eagle on the political soil of Akwaibom, many are now in a hurry to eat their words back.

Defecating on the pathway at night can be quite disastrous because during the day, you maybe the victim likely to march on your faeces.

With his actions, performance and a different attitude coupled with a dynamic administrative style, he has proven all sit home critics absolutely wrong.

Now, how will Akwaibomites have coped in this period where the streets of Uyo are seemingly dry and begging for patronage from all varieties of business on ground.

Gov. Udom Emmanuel has through his long years of managing national and global finances is able to sustain an entire state economy with limited fundings from the center.

Reach out to other states of the federation and examine the temperature of hot and cold going through their spine in a despensension, they longed yearned for change. But change in all ramifications has eluded them.

Gov. Udom Emmanuel remains the best bet.

Yesterday, 20'11'2016,former Gov. Victor Attah added another year to his age and proceeding gracefully. Many were of the opinion that the Governor odd to have congratulated him... #isorite.

While they were busy lashing on him, His Excellency, went ahead on page 2 of the Saturday Vanguard to show appreciation,solidarity and alignment with his foremost predecessor.

Those who were appearing hollier than thou, who were suppose to congratulate Obong Attah were waiting, anticipating and eager to know the content of Gov. Udom Emmanuel's message on the celebration.

It came without them knowing the platform, channel and tone of the message. #Godwin...

Have it in mind that Gov. Udom Emmanuel is determined to make a difference and evolve a New Akwa Ibom order where everyone matters in all transactions.

As we celebrate Obong Attah today, the true reflection of our State is what should guide the immediate forum of doubters.

Something good is on the way, usukusuk.Gov.Udom Emmanuel sure knows the workings of good governance and he's ever ready to foot the bills of statehood.

We must commend him for sustaining the tempo thus far in a critical situation Nigeria has been pushed into by the agents of change we are yet to witness. We pray it comes in our lifetime... Amen!

Pat Reuben is a strategic craft media analyst writes in from Awantong in Etinan.

Governor Udom Emmanuel: A transcendental leader who came at the right time

Governor Udom Emmanuel: A transcendental leader who came at the Right Time.


By Ekerete Udoh

At every point in a nation's trajectory,  a leader would be thrust forward who will look conventional wisdom in the face and through the force of his or her personality  rouse the  people from their comfort zones and inspire them to see the endless possibilities that nature so generously wired us to appropriate . These are usually transcendental and transformative leaders and they don’t materialize often.

 Key characteristic of this unique leader include:  a deep sense of love and belief in the people and the infinite capacity for them to fulfil their purpose in life if nudged gently and in the right direction, a moral disposition that puts service above self, an abiding faith in his or her capacity to effect and affect change;  humility that pleasantly shocks and confounds, a spiritual grounding that appears transparent and inviting,  and above all, a sense of confidence that is not in your face and a youthfulness that is both appealing and engaging.
Certain elements conspire to facilitate the emergence of this leader and they include:  a downturn in the socio-political fortunes of the given state or entity, a loss of faith or apathy on the part of the people in the capacity of the government to meet their needs, a ferment or fertile ground for change, the honesty and transparency displayed by the intrepid candidate and a set of governance ideals and platform that connects with the electorate.
 Leaders shaped and furnace with these qualities have helped reinvent the wheels of development and mobility when the wheels had almost fallen off; they usually restore hope and faith when the people were sized by a paroxysm of fear and uncertainty, they often work to bring back the shine and sheen- a winning disposition in the people when a grim and forlorn cloud hovered around their psychological space.

In the United States, the bastion of democracy and the custodian of a political system that has been copied extensively all over the world- democracy and the presidential system, notable leaders who changed the contours and tenor of governance have emerged at every junction. When the American enterprise was in serious jeopardy, Abraham Lincoln defied the dire warning of the south and ended slavery, plunging the nation into a civil war and the south declaring a confederacy Lincoln stood ramrod tall and fought for the unification of the nation. Today, he is celebrated as one of the most consequential presidents in the pantheon of the United States history.

Theodore Roosevelt, though a child of privilege and wealth, fought the agents of the Gilded Age who had seen the common people as mere pawns in the laboratories of big business and helped usher in the Progressive Era in American politics. The reforms of the Theodore Roosevelt administration- from breaking down the monopoly of big business, to conservation, to fair labour practices, today still shape how domestic policies are formulated in the United States.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, restored faith in the American people and its twin ideological ideals founded on  democracy and capitalism   when the people had lost faith and had started romanticizing socialism as a result of the collapse of the Stock market that brought about the Great Depression in 1929. 

Historians have unanimously concluded that were America not blessed with a leader in the mould of FDR, probably the history of American would have taken a different trajectory and a unipolar world based on the hegimonistic hold of the world that America currently exerts would not have happened. John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and most recently, Barack Obama are other American presidents who came in at critical moments and left strong and enduring legacies.

The emergence of Governor Udom Emmanuel as Governor of Akwa Ibom State has all the imprimatur and signature of the great leaders I have mentioned above. In late 2012, the nation had started experiencing some contraction in economic growth due to the steep fall in oil prices. Akwa Ibom state had been lucky to have a leader who had greatly transformed the once idyllic landscape into a rich network of great and world class road network. The then Governor, and now Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpbaio had worked to transform the state with a sense of anger. He had run a good race and needed to hand over the baton to another leader who would take the state to another layer of development and growth. Given the economic downturn the nation had been experiencing, it was almost divine that a proven financial services expert in the person of Deacon Udom Emmanuel, then an Executive Director with a leading financial institution in Nigeria- Zenith bank be brought in first as the Secretary to the State Government and later as the overwhelmingly elected Governor of the State.

Since May 29th 2015 when Governor Udom Emmanuel was sworn in as Governor of Akwa Ibom State, he has worked tirelessly to implement his vision encapsulated in his Five -Point Agenda of: Job Creation, Poverty Alleviation, Wealth Creation, Economic and Political Inclusion and Infrastructural Consolidation and Expansion. 

A man of proven Christian masculinity, the first set of things he did upon being sworn in, was to pay a backlog of pensions and gratuities to workers, and the labour leaders were so stunned by this gesture that they wrote letters of appreciation, effusively praising him for his magnanimity. While other states were struggling to pay salaries of workers, through a prudent application of scarce resources, Governor Emmanuel has endeavoured to pay the salary of workers promptly. The Governor has   sustained the free and compulsory education from primary to secondary and   free medical services to the aged and children between the ages 1-5 and pregnant mothers   remains sacrosanct.

Last year, he paid over 600 million WAEC fees to indigent students because of his avowed belief that no child should be left behind in their determined effort to pursue knowledge and education that would stand them in good stead to pursue the jobs of the 21 First Century.

 As a way of fulfilling his campaign promise of infrastructural consolidation, over 200 kilometres of roads have either been commissioned or are on-going and in various stages of completion. He has been able to achieve this giant feat, again through judicious application of the lean resources at his disposal. Governor Emmanuel, determined to wean the state off of her dependence on oil, has made huge investments in agriculture. Through Akwa Ibom Enterprise and Employment Scheme (AKEES) great things are happening in the agriculture sector. 

The state is well on its way to becoming a major producer of tomatoes and onions- two produce items that were once though not suitable for growing in these parts of the country. Some decades ago, Akwa Ibom State was the fourth largest prouder of cocoa in the country, we lost that position and cocoa all but disappeared from our economic radar.  Today, through training in pruning and shedding that the Governor had introduced and personally supervised, we are well on our way to returning to our premier position as a major cocoa producer in the country.  The Coco -nut refinery is on course. The biggest joy in all of this is that our youths have embraced agriculture wholeheartedly.

The central plank of Governor Emmanuel’s campaign was based solely on the need to rapidly industrialize the state and create jobs for our teeming youths. The administration is on course in this direction. Sometime last year, scandalized by the knowledge that we import even such items as pencils and toothpick, the Governor directed that we must have   a toothpick and pencil making factory ready before the end of the year. Today, that factory is almost ready for commissioning.  Work is also on-going in the metering factory the Governor had promised to build during our campaign. Other industries are coming up the pike.

Youths as the future leaders of the state have been variously empowered and trained in various vocational skills, they have been imbued with a new mind-set predicated on the ‘dakkada’ philosophy to see the joy in having an ownership society, to strive to build things, to own things, and to utilize the talents and skills that God has embedded in us all.  Through this moral re-awakening and rebirth or the ‘dakkada’ philosophy, the youths are filled with a new sense of hope and optimism and no longer believe in the cradle to grave entitlement mind-set.
Governor Emmanuel has brought a touch or culture of corporatism into governance,  civil servants and office holders  now show up to work on time, same at public events, because Governor Emmanuel – a keen believer in Christian time management shows up to functions on the dot of time. He has introduced a tone and tenor in governance based on Christ-like humility and forbearance and the people have followed suit.

As Leadership newspaper confers on him the publication’s “Governor of the Year, 2016,” I can only say with pride that I am honoured to have been given a little space to be a part of what in 2023, at the end of this intrepid journey would be defined as a transcendental administration   that turned Akwa Ibom State on the trajectory of economic growth and opportunity and a sense of pride and identity in the people that no clock can ever turn back. Congratulations my Boss and my Brother! May your tribe multiply.

Ekerete Udoh is the Chief Press Secretary and Senior Special Assistant, Media to Governor Udom Emmanuel

#GovernorOfTheYear

TRIBUTE TO MASTER HAROLD ANWANA ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY AND HIS SUPERLATIVE MUM - MRS. MEFLYN ANWANA

TRIBUTE TO MASTER HAROLD ANWANA ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY AND HIS SUPERLATIVE MUM - MRS. MEFLYN ANWANA.

Mrs. Meflyn William Anwana remains a house hold name in the Akwa Ibom and Nigeria media industry before her recent appointment as the Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on New Media.

Her antecedent in information management and dissemination has been impactful in the capacity of a News broadcaster for AKBC Channel 45 and a lead Presenter for the global Uncommon Transformation Television series during Governor Godswill Akpabio led administration. An experience that has given her the needed insight into governance and the information management machinery of the Akwa Ibom State Government.

HER critical relevance in the Governor Udom Emmanuel led administration is undoubtedly the role of the digital image maker of his Excellency in the ever dynamic and competitive global market via the Internet.. Being married to a Banker, Mr. Williams Anwana and blessed with a beautiful son named Harrold, She remains more resourceful and focused in discharging her responsibility as a New Media aide to her upwardly mobile boss - Governor Udom Emmanuel.

As a graduate of Petroleum Engineering from the Federal University of Uyo and a certified broadcaster from the United Kingdom, Mrs. Meflyn is a round peg in a round hole with a huge challenging task of trending the policies, programmes and partnerships of the Akwa Ibom State Government for inclusive governance and sustainable inflow of foreign direct investments in the phase of economic diversification.

Mrs. Meflyn is a 21st century revolutionary thinker with sound emotional intelligence in capacity building initiatives which she has proven with an innovative social media management of the Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation to bridge the information gap for the benefit of Akwa Ibomites in diaspora and foreign investors. Also her advocacy for a globally competitive economy with an introduction of a software development quest of young talented Akwa Ibomites and a human resource pool of an online job portal called 'HIRE A WORKMAN' could well justify the reason why pundits calls her "eka Internet"🖐🏿🌍📈📊📡.... Happy birthday Harold. 🙏😇🎂

Courtesy : CONTENT CURATION DEPARTMENT OF THE OFFICE OF NEW MEDIA AKWA IBOM STATE GOVERNMENT. 🖐🏿🌍📈📊📡

Speak with me to prove you are healthy, Fayose tells Buhari

Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti state has said that rather than shop for outsiders to speak with to prove to Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari is hale and hearty, the president should be encouraged instead to speak with him(Fayose) ” 




I advised the President to speak with me for the purpose of convincing Nigerians that he is hale and hearty instead of looking for people outside the country to convince Nigerians.” In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose picked holes in statements that Buhari had spoken in one week, first with the king of Morocco and next with the president of the African Union. 

“If their problem is that they are looking for a credible person who can help them convince Nigerians that all is well with our President, Ayo Fayose is their best bet. Let the president speak with me. If I tell Nigerians that the president spoke with me, Nigerians will believe”, he said.
Nigerians, he added, are getting suspicious of all the purported visits to Buhari in London as well as his orchestrated telephone conversations with international figures who Nigerians cannot trust to give a true and unbiased report about the president’s state of health.”Since they are eager for the president to speak to people; believing in this way to convince Nigerians that their President is hale and hearty, let President Buhari talk to me. I can be reached on 08035024994. I am credible and Nigerians will believe me”, he said. “They said he spoke to President Donald Trump; despite the hype, Nigerians were sceptical. Then they said he spoke to the king of Morocco; again, Nigerians were suspicious. Before we recovered from that, it is now the AU president that they said President Buhari spoke to.

Buhari: I am returning soon to continue project of fixing Nigeria

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor 

Lagos- President Muhammadu Buhari has said he was returning soon to continue the project of fixing Nigeria after a time of rest in London. 


President Buhari spoke in a telephone conversation with Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State at the weekend during which the two men paid compliments to one another on what they had done in office. Governor Bello would be the second governor President Buhari would be speaking with after his discussion with Governor Ganduje of Kano State. The President had also been reported to have spoken with the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, who recently lost his wife and with foreign leaders, including President Donald Trump of the United States, Moroccan leader, King Mohammed VI and African Union chairperson, President Alpha Conde of Guinea. The phone conversation which happened in Lagos on the governor’s trip back from President Olusegun Obasanjo’s 80th birthday celebrations which lasted for minutes, was in the presence of the speaker, Kogi State House of Assembly, a few other members of the House, commissioners and other top government functionaries. 

The President, who thanked the governor for his support and his leadership qualities, told him that he was observing rest and would return very soon to continue his assignment of providing purposeful leadership for the nation. President: “Governor Yahaya Bello, I am impressed by your leadership qualities, what you are doing in Kogi State and all your prayers and support for me and Nigeria. I am resting here and will soon return home to continue our project of fixing Nigeria,” the governor was quoted as saying in a press statement made available to Vanguard by the Director-General of the governor’s Media Team. Responding, Governor Bello was quoted as saying: “Nigeria has won respect globally because of your integrity and the anti-graft war that has been hugely successful. ”We are praying for you. Kogites and Nigerians are solidly behind your administration as we continue to wish you sound health and the grace of Allah.”

AKSG APPROVES COMMENCEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PARK & JETTY PROJECT

AKSG APPROVES COMMENCEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PARK & JETTY PROJECT

As part of its drive to industrialize Akwa Ibom and create business opportunities, the state government has signed an agreement with some private developers for the commencement of an industrial park and jetty project in the Ikot Abasi area of the state.

Governor Udom Emmanuel who headed the government delegation assured the contractors 3W Alliance (Ltd) and allied partners that his administration will do everything possible to support the speedy completion of the project which spans five local government areas.

He maintained that, he has put in place a structured transaction process that will ensure that the project is sustained beyond the lifespan of his government, saying “the business is structured to survive no matter who is in the saddle tomorrow.”

Stating that natural resources are useless if not properly harnessed into effective productivity, Governor Emmanuel affirmed that he has extracted support for the project from the host communities.
“I had series of meetings with the communities and I told them the water was there all along and no meaningful wealth came out of it. Today we want to turn that water into wealth and I have sued for peace and support from them.”

Governor who joked that water can only be transformed into wine, depending on who is conducting the prayers, said he has reached an understanding for an harmonious relationship between the developers and the host communities.

“Before all of us were born the water was there and it was not yielding dollars to the people, today we want to drive that water to become wealth, and we deserve all the support and cooperation of the public.”
He said the success of businesses depended on reliable infrastructure, security and transparent legislation.
According to him, legislations exist to protect the laws guiding businesses and expressed satisfaction that the arbitration of the MoU was under the country’s jurisdiction.

He expressed belief that with the assurances from the major financiers of the project, commencement of the project would soon begin.
Speaking while signing the agreement on behalf of the contractors, Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab Chairman of 3W Alliance ltd and leader of the delegation assured of their readiness to urgently execute the project as demanded.

Mutallab a former Minister of Economic Development said, “We look forward to immediate commencement of the project and we will do our very best to ensure speedy completion of the project.”
He commended the governor on his foresight, describing the industrial park as a significant economic investment for the people of the state.

Other partners in the project who accompanied Alhaji Mutallab included, Emilio Magoni of Impresit Bakolori, Oliver Zheo representing Longxin Group, Jackson Ilusiantei from Nebei Port in China, Emmanuel Okon of Eminence Oil and Chemical and Rabi Momoh who led the team from Heritage Bank, Olojede Alani of New Insurance and Bolarinwa Sanmi of Pan Africa Capital.
To sign the agreement on behalf of the state government included the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uwemedimo Nwoko, Commissioner for Investments, Trade and Industry Prof. Eno Ikpe and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Technical Matters and Due Process Elder Ufot Ebong.

FG directs oil companies to relocate headquarters to Niger-Delta

Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has directed the International Oil Companies operating in the Niger-Delta region to relocate their headquarters to their States of operation to mitigate tension in host communities. 



Osinbajo, gave the directive at a Town Hall meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital on Thursday during continuation visit to the region to dialogue with stakeholders. 


The Acting President urged the Minister of State, Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to begin the process of engaging the International Oil Companies on the way forward to actualize the directive, saying “I think it is the right thing to do”. 

He disclosed that, the Ministry of Petroleum is also working with major oil companies on several initiatives including; working on illegal refineries to establish modular refineries to achieve the desired result.

On the Federal Government amnesty programme for ex-agitators, Osinbajo re-iterated the federal government stand noting that, the Ministry of Petrolum and Amnesty office are working with the state governments of the region on providing the benefits to young people in the states. 

He emphasized on the importance of the Ibaka deep Sea port project, saying that, the Federal Government is seriously committed to its realization. 

According to him, “Indeed as a matter of fact, in the 2017 budget there is already a provision for the Ibaka port. There is already N1billion provision. It is a matter we take seriously to partner with the Akwa Ibom State Government”, urging state governments in the region to attract private investments in their domain in order to create employment opportunities for the youths. 

Earlier, Governor Udom Emmanuel appealed to the Federal Government to integrate Akwa Ibom indigenes who were left out in the amnesty programmes, as well as stressed the need for the reactivation of the Aluminum Smelter Company (ALSCON) at Ikot Abais local government area of the state to create more opportunities for the people. 

He said, “With facilities we have in ALSCON, we cannot see it anywhere in Africa; from the services, communication to power generation you can create seven profits centres”. 

Governor Emmanuel, while commending Prof. Osinbajo for the visit, further solicited the support of the federal government for the completion of the maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO) facilities at the Akwa Ibom International airport to assist repairs of aircrafts assuring that, any financial assistance for the completion of the MRO will be refunded in no time from revenue generated from the repairs of aircrafts.

Unyime Leo wrote in from Uyo - Akwa Ibom State.

PRESS RELEASE: ACTING PRESIDENT OSINBAJO ARRIVES AKWA IBOM ON THURSDAY

PRESS RELEASE

ACTING PRESIDENT OSINBAJO ARRIVES AKWA IBOM ON THURSDAY

Plans have been concluded for the state visit of the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo to Akwa Ibom State this Thursday, March 2, 2017.

A release by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Charles Udoh reveals that Prof Osinbajo will inspect the ongoing construction of the second runway at the Akwa Ibom International Airport shortly on arrival in the state by 1.00pm.

The Acting President will then pay a courtesy call on royal fathers in the state at the traditional rulers’ council. 

Prof Osinbajo is expected to subsequently address a townhall meeting with stakeholders at the state Banquet Hall in Government House before departing from the state.

Among those expected at the townhall meeting are members of the state elders council, royal fathers, representatives of the oil producing host communities, socio-cultural organisations, women leaders, and representatives of youths in the state.

The visit comes as part of the ongoing efforts by the federal government to interact with stakeholders in the Niger Delta region and find lasting solutions to crisis in the oil rich sub-region.