By Dan ETUKIDEM, Charles AKPAN & AmanamHillary UMO-UDOFIA
UYO, Dec 16 (SituationReport) – Akwa Ibom Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has declared that the 3-Day Exco Ministerial Briefings/End of Year Review is to enable his administration present its scorecard of the last 18 months to the Akwa Ibom people for evaluation and assessment, reiterating his determination to ensure effective service delivery to both citizens and residents of the state.
Speaking at the opening session of the Ministerial Briefing/End of Year Review, the Governor said after 18 months of people-centered governance, it was imperative for periodic self examination and critical thinking that will help the government consolidate on its achievements because an unexamined life is not worth living.
According to Pastor Umo Eno, after 18 months in office, it is time to sit together, look critically and take stock on what the administration has done, assess what have been done right and consolidate on it, evaluate what should be done right and learn from noticeable gaps, areas his administration can amend to get it right, because his government is not flawless.
“This is my scorecard. We have tried to keep to the ideals of the Arise Agenda. The Ministerial Briefing is an enlarged Exco Meeting to present government’s scorecard and learn. We have done well. It is left for critical stakeholders to analyze what we have done”, he stated.
The State Chief Executive explained that he is not afraid of criticism. In his words, “We are not afraid of criticism. We welcome constructive criticism but when criticism becomes condemning, it weighs down leadership. Let us extol the good virtues before we criticize”, he submitted.
The Governor assured that in the last 18 months, his administration has been accountable, transparent and prudent in the disbursement and management of government resources and in building trust between the government and the people.
I will always be prudent in funds disbursement. I won’t fritter it away to play to the gallery. Release of funds must be tied to ideas and projects that will benefit the generality of Akwa Ibom people. Challenge anyone who says the Governor is not releasing funds to show the ideas presented. We’re here to crystalalise ideas”, he assured.
He announced that the Ministerial Briefing is a prelude to Town Hall Meetings to be held in various federal constituencies from February 2025 to enable the government get inputs from the people that will guide government in policy formulation especially for the 2026 budget.
The Governor reiterated his administration’s determination to embark on strategic long term investments that will yield revenue to the state in view of the stark reality that monthly allocation from the federation account may most likely dwindling due to national economic indices.
Hear him, “FAAC disbursement to states in a five years or ten years from now may drastically dwindling hence critical and long term investments becomes inevitable especially in real estate and Small and Medium Enterprises, SME’s.
He announced that the administration is currently working on three major projects; the Aviation Village and all its component units, the Ibom Deep Sea Port and the Ibom Medical City, all of which are huge projects and capital intensive of which his administration had to prioritize with priority attention given to the airport because of its quick return on investment.
The Governor paid tributes to his predecessor for embarking on strategic and audacious projects especially for strategic investments that occured in the aviation sector.
According to Pastor Umo Eno, several interventions are still needed to bring the airport to international standard, especially perimeter fencing, a project he noted was necessary but capital intensive.
He observed that unlike other airports that may experience flight and service disruptions if there is a technical hitch or issues with the runway which affects the functionality of the airport, the Victor Attah International Airport, VAIA, has a Taxi Way which can be deployed in an emergency situation thus enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the airport in line with international best practices, assuring that his administration will continue to invest in the aviation ecosystem of the state to bring the airport to international standard.