By Usiere Akpan
UYO
Gov Udom Emmanuel has expressed satisfaction at the fulfillment of social contract to provide critical infrastructural consolidation and political inclusion within the past seven years in Akwa Ibom.
Emmanuel made the remarks in a statewide broadcast on radio, television and social media platforms in an appraisal of his administration, which took place from Government House, Uyo, recently.
The governor stated that in the seven years of his administration there are tangible evidence that “the Akwa Ibom fountain of growth is sprouting heavens-ward and is poised to soak us all, in growth and prosperity going forward. Adding, “That is the verdict, the unvarnished truth and this verdict is sacrosanct. The facts and the evidence bear us out.”
Emmanuel recalled that the first term of the initial contract was predicated on five critical points, of job creation, poverty alleviation, infrastructural consolidation and expansion, wealth creation and economic and political inclusion, saying,“We later expanded the set of ideals into the 8-point completion agenda comprising: Industrialization, infrastructure, aviation development, agriculture, human capacity development, security, small and medium scale enterprises and rural and riverine development.”
He mentioned that the harsh economic tailwind confronted the two resources from the two recessions and the one year period of Covid-19 pandemic, explaining that across sectors there has been exceeding performance at 85 percent scores with expectations of hitting more considerable scores at the end of tenure next year.
The state chief executive officer said that in infrastructural expansion, the promise to consolidate and expand on the gains are all there for all everyone to see from the airport expansion project to world-class roads, maintaining, “As you enter the city centre, you’ll soon be welcomed by a 10-lane fully lit and fully manicured boulevard that will, upon being commissioned would compare with any such major road in the world.”
He stressed that the newly constructed Idongesit Nkanga Avenue is a hugely economically viable road that cuts the traffic into the city centre and shortens the travel time through the state either from Nung Oku, in Ibesikpo Asutan or to Nwaniba Road, in the heart of the city, hinting that, “the value of landed property along that road has appreciated considerably.
Those who own lands in the area are smiling to the banks as several commercial enterprises have started springing up”.
Emmanuel also stated that “The glittering 21-Storey Dakkada Towers today stands tall as a testament to an emerging commercial city, and has helped define our skyline. Several multinational companies have signed leases, in their determined efforts to tap into the prosperity whose foundation we are currently laying’ maintaining that, “All across the three senatorial districts, and the 10 federal constituencies, we’ve built roads, some have been commissioned, some are on-going and the state can be linked seamlessly through a rich network of commercially-viable roads.”
He mentioned that the social contract was to unite the people around common ideals; to chart a new course predicated onshared values, orientation, ethos, ideals and abiding love on a call to ‘Dakkada’ to the faith of greatness, appreciating that “it was a contract that was signed, overseen, and affirmed with ecclesiastical blessing and clarity to the glory of the “One who Reigns Supreme”.
The governor said that the perennial flooding along Nsikak Eduok Avenue, that made the road impassable has been addressed alongside the ongoing IBB flood control project done in collaboration with the World Bank, stressing that in the power sector, the power-for-all by 2021 programme has connected 2,274 gazetted villages to the national grid, making Akwa Ibom the only state with such a record.
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