We Want To Eliminate This Issue Of Godfatherism – Gov Eno

By Bassey Nkponam 
UYO
The Akwa Ibom governor has reaffirmed his commitment to eliminating the issue of godfatherism in his governance structure.
Pastor Umo Eno, who stated this, recently, while fielding questions from Government House correspondents at the Governor’s Lodge, Government House, Uyo, said Akwa Ibom people do not need to know anybody to benefit from government.
Eno assured that in as much as it lies within his power, the issue of godfatherism will be reduced to the barest minimum, as every Akwa Ibom citizen has equal access to the government portal for grants provided by his administration.
“We want to eliminate this issue of godfatherism, where you must know somebody before you access government grants. As much as it lies within my power, we will reduce it to the barest minimum. That is the thing about groups, and I hope I have carefully explained myself.” 
The governor explained that his administration’s empowerment scheme for 2026, with a budget of N31 billion, would accommodate more interested persons and cover four categories of grants – farmers, traders, MSMEs, and skills acquisition grants. 
According to him, everyone, including members of support groups, have the right to benefit from any of the grants by accessing the portal, saying, “the idea is to stimulate our local economy. So, we are putting N1 billion in the budget for each local government area in the 2026 appropriation bill”.
Eno made known that when the time comes, the portal will be open and each local government will access the N1 billion on an individual basis, and encouraged groups and everybody to apply. 
He emphasised that those who apply will receive the grants based on their local governments of origin and not where their businesses are located, even as all the locations of the businesses will be inspected and validated.
“We will inspect and validate all the locations of the businesses, just as we did last year for the various grants that we have been giving. We will thoroughly verify all your claims before we release the funds”, he explained.
He explained that before the skills acquisition grants are released to the beneficiaries, they have to be enrolled at the Ibom Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development Centre, Ibom-LEDC, for a 10 weeks refresher course on their chosen area of business, and that before beneficiaries graduate, they will come up with a project on how they will utilise the money.
The governor noted that grants for those with one skill or the other will only be given when they have been proven to have acquired the skills, and that there will be monitoring and evaluation of these businesses to see how productive they are in order to mentor and guide the people involved to ensure sustainability.
He stressed that government will not give money to any group leader in order to ensure proper accountability and transparency.
Still on the issue of support groups, Eno saw them as social groups that volunteered to support a candidate whom they believed would provide good services, ensure accountability and transparency, adding that he was elected to cater for the entire Akwa Ibom people, and not individual groups. 
“Support groups are social groups that volunteered to support a candidate whom they believe would provide good services, ensure accountability and transparency.
“I was elected to cater for the entire people of Akwa Ibom State, not individual groups. I truly appreciate the groups for their support but they shouldn’t see themselves entitled to the State’s budget.
“Let us allow the generality of Akwa Ibomites; people that have nobody to also access these grants to better their lives and those of their families. 
“No particular group or groups will have an exclusive right to these programmes. They are for every Akwa Ibom indigene irrespective of their social status,” he stated.