British Envoy Lauds A’Ibom Gov On Infrastructure Dev, Tourism Investment

By Bassey Nkponam 
UYO
The Akwa Ibom governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has been lauded by the British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, for his infrastructure development and investment in tourism in the State.   
Johny Baxter, who made the commendation, recently, during a courtesy visit on Eno at Government House, Uyo, noted that the remarkable, visionary and impactful leadership, anchored on the ARISE Agenda, and the infrastructure, especially road network, were pointers to quality leadership.
Impressed by the friendly ambience of the State, Baxter also expressed satisfaction with the exceptional service delivery by the state-owned airline, Ibom Air, describing it as one of the best airlines in this part of the world.
He noted that Ibom Air was a major avenue to boost the rich tourism and hospitality potentials of the state, in addition to the huge potential in agriculture given its green and lush environment.
“The Commission in Lagos has a commercial focus and we are looking at business and trade in the southern areas. I want to get as many Southern States as I can, and I have long been looking forward to getting to Akwa Ibom State, and the reason is reinforced by Ibom Air which, to my mind, feels like one of the best flight carriers for the State in so many ways and everyone should be extraordinarily proud of it.
“I have been impressed by what I have seen so far here. I have barely been here for 24 hours but already the infrastructure, the roads, are very clearly balanced, and just looking at the scenery here, how green and lush Akwa Ibom is, I can really see the agriculture potential of the State and other investments,” he said.
The British envoy, who was accompanied by the country director, Department for Business and Trade, Lagos, Mark Smithson; Senior Political Adviser, Head, British High Commission South South Regional Office, Dr. Fortune Alfred; and Senior Political Adviser, British Deputy High Commission, Lagos, Wale Adebajo, later toured some facilities of the State government especially the ARISE Resort, expressed satisfaction with the project, transformed from a 70-hectare erosion ravine disaster.
He assured the State government of his country’s readiness to partner it on key economic areas to promote investments and ensure good bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Britain, and the sub-nationals, with a duty-free trade assurance.
The governor, while receiving the envoy and his entourage, recalled Nigeria’s age-long historical relationship with the United Kingdom and its diverse humanitarian programmes, which have also been extended to Akwa Ibom.
According to him, in recognition of the special relationship, his administration has been working with the Tony Blair Institute in strategic areas, particularly tourism development, even as the State government had also sponsored students from the State for strategic educational tour to the United Kingdom to enrich their knowledge and expose them to a different learning environment. 
   Eno said the idea was to make them see the limitless possibilities in life to underscore the fact that places of their birth cannot limit them if they are focused on learning, and are disciplined enough. 
“That was basically done to show them that the world actually is a stage where everyone can play. That was the motivation for that trip, and it is paying off. We are planning a second trip. We hope we can partner with the Commission to help with that trip,” he noted.
He informed the envoy and his team that the State was developing its economic zones, including the Liberty Oil and Gas Free Trade Zones, Ibom Industrial City, and Itam Industrial Park in Uyo, adding, “We want to work with an investor to power the Park so that it can run off-grid and provide power to industries that want to operate there”.
Eno further highlighted projects planned to be kick-started by the State to include, tree crop revolution, Ikot Ekpene international market, rural electrification project, etc, saying, “Akwa Ibom is the first sub-national in Nigeria to create an Aviation Ecosystem, and we are seriously building on that.
He said aside Ibom Air, government was nearing the completion of its Maintenance Repairs and Overhaul, MRO, and was looking for opportunities for managers or people who can help manage the MRO and its terminal building.
Eno mentioned the potentials and positive ripple effects of the State’s ARISE Resort to be completed and inaugurated before the end of the year, saying, the resort promises to be a tourist hub in the country.