In furtherance of his administration’s asset management and public safety drive, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has moved to give a facelift to the State House of Assembly Complex.
Governor Eno gave the indication while undertaking a facility tour of the Assembly Complex, located along Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo, to ascertain the extent of disrepair and the need for upgrade facility to ensure compliance with expected standards for such an edifice.
The Governor who said his visit was to honour the invitation by the leadership of the Assembly to inspect the complex with the view to exploring ways to fix the dilapidation expressed regret over the deplorable state of some facilities within the complex and pointed out the need for basic safety equipment and designated safety personnel on the facility.
He paid tributes to the earlier leaders of the state who thought it wise to put up the edifice which he described as one of the best in the country, however expressing regrets that the facilities have been left to decay over time.
In his words, “you have been pressing for the renovation of this facility and in my usual way, I have to see things for myself, first hand.
“As you are aware, we now have an Asset and Infrastructure Management Agency. Their job basically, is to ensure that government assets are preserved and maintained, they will be working with you. In that agency is a Health and Environmental Safety directorate. Going round all of this we see that there are no safety gadgets, in case anything happens, so I believe that this renovation will take into consideration all of the safety issues,” he added.
The Governor commended the leadership and members of the State’s 8th Assembly for their role in maintaining the harmonious and collaborative relationship with the Executive arm which, he affirmed, has aided the pace of development and good governance deliverables in line with the ARISE Agenda.
“The Bills you have passed all dovetail to the welfare of our people and I’m glad to be here for this very brief visit. I want to thank you for coming out to receive us despite being on vacation. We don’t take this for granted.
“We’ll continue to work collaboratively with all arms of government to give the dividends of democracy to our people. On behalf of all of us from the Executive arm of government, I thank you,” the Governor said.
The Governor also proposed a state wide ambulance service that will complement State Government’s drive in the health sector, evident in the remodelling of existing and provision off new primary healthcare facilities, and approval of recruitment of 400 healthcare, as well as the recent approval for 100 safety and health emergency personnel.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Udeme Otong, appreciated the Governor for honouring his invitation, and expressed the delight of the Legislators over the visit, which he described as an unprecedented expression of goodwill by the Governor towards the Legislature.
He stated that the House has resolved to reciprocate the Governor’s gesture through continuous collaboration to deliver good governance to Akwa Ibom people through ARISE Agenda of the Governor Umo Eno led administration.
