16 Years After: A’Ibom Investment Corporation Returns

…To Drive Viability Of Government Investment In Over 20 State-owned Enterprises
… Identifies Two Ailing Industries For Revamping
UYO
Following the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation Law of 2011, which repealed the Akwa Ibom Investment and Industrial Promotion Council Law of 2000 and recently amended by the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation Law of 2023, the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP) is all set to renew its mandate to drive the State’s Investment in the various companies, corporations and other legal entities owned or invested in by the state.
AKICORP’s mandate in this renewed drive is coming at the instance of the state governor, Pastor Umo Eno’s directive that all state-owned enterprises be transferred to AKICORP, while still being supervised by respective ministries.
This was made known recently by the managing director and chief executive officer of AKICORP, Pastor Imo-Abasi Jacob, during an inaugural meeting with chief executives of the state-owned enterprises, held to intimate them of the expected synergy between the two parties in order to grow the state investment and prosperity, which ultimately is in the interest of the state and people, if the state must survive beyond going cap in hand to the federal government.
With the mandate to undertake investment promotion and custodial activities, facilitate the development of entrepreneurship in the state, as well as promote corporate governance in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Imo-Abasi Jacob described the Corporation as an investment trust and holding company to all investments of the government; to hold and control all the investment and securities of the state government in the various companies, corporations and other legal entities the state government is involved in.
  Jacob highlighted the investment portfolio of the Corporation to be entities fully supervised by AKICORP, those jointly supervised by AKICORP and other MDAs, others owned but not supervised by AKICORP, as well as those not owned and supervised by AKICORP.
In this regard, the ailing Quality Ceramics and Ibom Paints Industries have been penciled for resuscitation.
Ideally, according to Jacob, the taking over of the business of the state-owned enterprises is to reposition them for viability and profitability.
At the meeting, the chief executives of the SOEs, in attendance, welcomed the initiative and expressed their readiness to cooperate with AKICORP on the initiative and key into the ARISE Agenda of Gov Umo Eno.