By danivert

Copyright thesun

From Isaac Job, Uyo

The Minister of Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike is expected in Akwa Ibom State for project commissiong to mark 38th anniversary celebration of the state created in 1987 .

In a statewide broadcast to mark the state anniversary , governor Eno listed projects to be commissioned by the FCT Minister Wike to include 15.13km Ikot Otomo-Azumini road and other internal roads in Ika local government area of the state .

” Tomorrow, September 24th, the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, H.E. Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, CON, will help commission the 15.13km Ikot Otomo–Azumini Road and other internal roads in Ika Local Government Area.

Eno also hailed former military president Ibrahim Babangida for creating the state in 1987 and promised to consolidate on developments beyond the dreams of past leaders .

“Let me again, on behalf of the Government and people of this great State, thank and celebrate our former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, GCFR (rtd.), for this unique gift. May God continue to bless him with good health, a sound mind and spirit.

He appreciated past governors who have ruled the state at different times with their brand of developments at all stages.

“It has been a journey of renewal, of phenomenal growth, of undiluted peace, of the deepening of bonds of unity, kindred spirit and pride in our collective identity.

“It has been a journey that will gladden the hearts of our founding fathers who had prayed, consulted and dreamed of a homogeneous state of shared values, ethos and drive, but their hope was not realized in their time.

“Thirty-eight years ago, that dream came alive with the creation of our dear State, the Land of Promise – a land of valiant and resourceful people, Akwa Ibom State”

Eno observed that Uyo Capital City was a rural area without modern infrastructure but has suddenly become a destination of choice for tourists .

He said Akwa Ibom people were known for performing domestic work as servants in cities adding the narrative has changed through dint of hard work by former leaders of the state .

“Our people, long thought to be mostly good at performing domestic chores, have all arisen and are holding commanding positions across the world in various professions.

“Let me at this time pay my glowing tributes to all our past Governors.
These leaders were passionate, determined and focused in moving our State forward, and we should celebrate and honour them for their service to the State, rather than disrespecting or castigating their legacies. We owe them deep respect.”

Eno explained that his administration was ready to expand the frontiers of development by the past leaders including exploring the secret development and prosperity in the tourism sector of the economy.

“Today, we are determined to expand the frontiers of all those developmental gains and prime our State away from dependency on oil to tourism, which is the new black gold.”

Eno maintained that his governance blueprint in the ARISE Agenda has ignited passion in Agriculture and the need to produce staple food to feed families and generate income .

He disclosed rural development will continue to be one of the priorities to develop the state faster as 771km of roads have been constructed while some of them are ongoing projects in different communities.

‘To date, we have done 771 kilometres of road either commissioned or ongoing across the three senatorial districts – some of these roads were inherited from past administrations on which we have deployed our finisher’s anointing.

“Security has been strengthened and just a few days ago, we launched the Akwa Ibom Security Trust Fund aimed at bringing the private sector together in the onerous task of ensuring we remain one of the nation’s safe, secure and peaceful states”.

Eno mentioned other milestones achievements in his administration such as hospital infrastructure, intervention for vulnerable persons by construction of compassionate homes to accommodate widows , elderly persons and provision of food stuffs in hard times for rural dwellers .

“We hope to flag -off the construction of our 350-bed Ibom International Hospital along the medical corridor as well as the commissioning of the Arise Elders Care Centre, also along the same corridor

” Through our administration’s compassionate interventions, we have built 267 fully furnished and solar-powered two-bedroom flats out of 500 planned for the vulnerable.

In addition, our free food distribution programme, drawn from the State’s verified Social Register, is now in its third phase, and we have so far reached over 500,000 households.”