Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State yesterday reflected on his eight years tenure which ends on May 29, and declared,”I am leaving the State better than I met it in 2015.”
Although he noted that he would not award himself a 100 percent pass mark in terms of performance, Emmanuel assured that his successor, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, would sustain the tempo of development adding that government is continuum.
Addressing the people in a State – wide broadcast, his last to commemorate Easter, Emmanuel enumerated his achievements in the last eight years in the areas of roads, health, education, agriculture, security and social empowerments, and solicited the cooperation of the political class, especially those still aggrieved after the general elections, to bury feuds and be in the vanguard of sustaining the prevailing peace.
He said: “We have rejigged our educational curriculum and put emphasis on Information Technology, science and entrepreneurial learning. Over two thousand new teachers have been added to our school system and we remain committed to ensuring that public school system is managed well and remains the pathway to ensuring that no child is left behind in the pursuit of education and personal growth and envelopment. As we get ready to hand over the baton to my Successor, I am happy to announce to you that the future of our children as far as our educational system is concerned is rock-solid, and it can only get better.
“Rural and riverine development aimed at curbing rural-urban migration was a key element of our Eight-Point Agenda. Today, with over 90 percent of the gazetted villages linked to the national grid, with thousands of feeder roads constructed, hospitals and other secondary healthcare care facilities constructed and equipped, our rural areas have never had it so good. With this policy also a central element of my Successor’s Agenda, Akwa Ibom is on the cusp of further rural development.
“Our women and youths are becoming more entrepreneurial. With other impactful interventions by my dear wife, and First Lady through her Signature Pet Project, Family Enhancement and Youth Reorientation Path Initiative (FEYReP), our women have expanded their businesses, and our youths have agreed to rise up to the faith of their greatness. No longer are they totally waiting for government to provide them employments; these days our youths are adding value, utilizing their hands and creative endeavours to create sustainable living for themselves.
“Akwa Ibom today, is the destination of choice for most Nigerians. Our hotel occupancy rate is almost 100 percent. With Ibom Air and the attendant ease of doing business, the peace we enjoy here, our rich cultural heritage, our cuisine and our famed hospitable disposition our State is emerging as a tourism hub. The Four Point by Sheraton Hotel in Ikot Ekpene, which we opened a few months ago, has become a favorite place for tourists and you our dear people. It is good to hear the good stories coming from the hotel, how our people now spend family time with their children and spouses.
“Let me salute our gallant security agencies for the robust cooperation we have enjoyed in the last almost eight years. You have, in deep collaboration with us turned our story around. Today, Akwa Ibom is generally seen and celebrated as one of the most peaceful States in the nation. You bought into our vision of making our State, livable, free of sundry security challenges, you bought into our zero-tolerance for cultism and other anti social vices. We salute your dedication and remain convinced you will extend the same level of cooperation to the Governor-elect. Akwa Ibom is rising and it can only get better.”
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