By Bassey Nkponam
UYO
Former Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Johnathan, on Tuesday inaugurated the 1.3km8metres deep underground flood control tunnel along Atiku Abubakar Way, Uyo, with praises on the State governor’s ingenuity in governance in less than one year in office.
Also inaugurated was the reconstructed section of Atiku Abubakar Way, with walkway, drainage, solar street lights and the adjourning 1km Afaha Ube Street, all in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital.
The inauguration was part of activities to mark the 60th birthday of the governor, Pastor Umo Eno.
Speaking at the event, Johnathan lauded Governor Eno for his leadership strides, having prioritised the needs of his people, as demonstrated in his ingenuity of initiating and completing such major life-touching projects within his first year in office.
The former President, who made reference to a recent flood alert by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, described Eno as a proactive leader, who is worthy of commendation, urging Akwa Ibom people to be vigilant against anti-social elements and vandalisation of public infrastructure.
The State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, expressed gratitude to the former President, his predecessor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom people and well-wishers on his birthday, and restated the resolve of his administration to use the commonwealth of Akwa Ibom people to put smiles on their faces through life-touching projects and programmes that will ameliorate their sufferings.
“We are committed to touching lives, we are committed to improving the standard of living of our people. We are committed to rural development, and we are committed to providing those soft and hard infrastructures, but the time we are in now demand soft infrastructure.
“The time demands that we feed our people. It demands that we help them go back to the farm. It demands that our people take advantage of all of the contracts that are providing so many jobs for our young people and it demands that we keep being in peace to continue to attract investment to our state to be able to continue to provide jobs to our people”.
Eno, who described the Atiku Abubakar Way and drainage interventions as products of faith and circumstance, recalled that the project was one of the interventions of his administration in response to citizen’s outcry.
He commended the contractor, Hensek Integrated Services, for satisfactorily interpreting the vision of the government in the project execution, calling on Akwa Ibom people to join hands in ensuring development, in line with the ARISE Agenda.
“I do not know the young man that sent me that photograph on this road, but we are here courtesy of that young man. So if you notice anything in your environment, you can send it to us. We will look at it, prioritise it, handle it and try to see how we can come to your aid.
What this shows is that all of us can collectively run this state. The state is not just run by the governor. We try to run an open government. We try to run a government across party lines because knowledge is not only based on one person or one party. We can work together as a people. We accept and appreciate the constructive criticism, but not those that are borne out of malice and mischief. Together, all of us can be in government, whether you are given an appointment or not”.
The governor cautioned the people against vandalising facilities built with the people’s funds for the good of all, while also urging them to take up the challenge of protecting infrastructure within their domains as a communal responsibility.
“We cannot be destroying facilities that government spent so much money to fix. It is not my money, it is your money. It is our collective money. So if you see someone destroying government property, know that it is part of your money being destroyed. You can step forward and caution the person.”
Giving an overview of the project, the commissioner for works and fire service, Professor Eno Ibanga, said the project, which was awarded in August 2023, has been completed to specifications, with guarantee of deflooding the entire stretch of Atiku Abubakar Way and its environs, as well as restoring life to the city area.
Speaking on behalf of stakeholders and people of Uyo Local Government Area, the commissioner for culture and tourism, Sir Charles Udoh, and the paramount ruler of Uyo, HRM Edidem Sylvanus Okon, thanked the Umo Eno led-government for bringing relief to Afaha Ube people by solving the perennial and near hopeless flood situation on Atiku Abubakar Way.
The head teacher of Beulah International School, Mr Itoro Udokang, who spoke on behalf of one the schoolsthat were seriously affected by the hitherto impassable condition, and a pupil, Miss Ofonono Vitalis, expressed the gratitude of the school community to the governor and congratulated him on his 60th birthday, describing him as God-send and a caring father.
Interacting with Government House correspondents at the event, the youth leader of Afaha Ube, Akparawa Udoka, described Eno’s intervention in fixing the perennial erosion menace as unprecedented and life-saving, adding that with the EfakIfia project also ongoing, only the people of Afaha Ube can really understand the goodness of having Pastor Umo Eno as governor in the past few months of his administration.
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