Akwa Ibom State governor Pastor Umo Eno has expressed concern over the harsh socio-economic realities impinging negatively on residents. He assured that plans have been concluded to partner with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to successfully deliver on key policies and programmes under his administration’s ARISE Agenda blueprint.
The governor made this known while receiving a delegation from UNDP, led by the Resident Representative for Nigeria, Ms. Elsie Attafuah, on a courtesy visit to him at the Government House, Uyo, the state capital.
He said that the state was open and ready to partner on the different thematic areas of the ARISE Agenda, ranging from agriculture to tourism, environment, rural development, women empowerment, youth empowerment, sports, power, aviation, transportation, housing, ICT, education, healthcare and others.
The governor noted that the ARISE Agenda has gained momentum with some developmental strides including the reclamation and transformation of a life – threatening gully erosion site into a resort with state – of -the – art facilities, model primary health centres, model primary schools and others.
Governor Eno said the State was planning to host summits on tourism and power, adding that the government under his leadership was leveraging the new International Airport, Ibom Air, the ongoing International Convention Centre and Hotels, as well as the different tourism sites to boost tourism.
He, therefore, directed his executive assistant/chief delivery advisor, Mr. Aniefiok Johnson, to liaise with the resident representative to fashion out specific areas of partnerships.
The governor appreciated UNDP for the ongoing ICT hub at the University of Uyo, as well as their willingness to partner with the state government, and expressed hope that it would yield positive results in the nearest future.
Responding, the leader of the delegation, Ms. Attafuah, said she was endeared to the state following the well articulated development blueprint tagged; the ARISE Agenda, explaining that her visit “is to explore possible areas of partnership to ensure full actualisation of the Agenda.”
According to her, the UNDP was ready to promote the vision of the ARISE Agenda by focusing on the areas of agriculture, tourism, rural development, infrastructure development, energy, security management and economic advancement.
She described the numerous achievements of the Governor Eno-led administration, especially in the areas of peace, security, and quality infrastructures, as a testament to pragmatic leadership, even as she thanked the host for the warm reception.
