By Chijioke Amu-Nnadi
Listening to Pastor Umo Eno, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, deliver his Easter message on Sunday, one was struck, again, by the warm humanity of his engagement with his people, as well as the sheer magnitude of the work he is doing to develop this important contributor to Nigeria’s oil and gas riches.
He spoke with the candour of a reverend gentleman, the conviction of a man who believes in his call to service, and with the flourish of an administrator who understands his mission, and has listed in his open diary an anthology of his achievements, each aimed at realising that mission. And in his words, and overall delivery, there is the unmistakeable sense and aura that he carries on his shoulders the collective burden of his people. And he is willing to walk every mile, cover every community, touch every Akwa Ibomite, until that burden is lifted.
He said: “Today, we join Christian faithful all over the world to celebrate Easter, a sacred event in the Christian calendar which marks the death, the burial and triumphant resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In this season, our faith is renewed and reawakened; salvation and redemption are assured with the eternal truth as captured in St. Luke Gospel, Chapter 24:23: “Jesus is alive.” Death could not hold Him down.
And he said further: “This season therefore, is one that is defined by selfless love and sacrifice, so aptly proclaimed in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.” It is a season where hope is renewed, faith strengthened, and eternal life reassured.”
Governor Umo Eno’s government policy is encapsulated in what he calls the Arise Agenda. The Arise Agenda is a five-pillar economic blueprint which focuses on agricultural revolution, rural development, infrastructural maintenance, security management and educational/heath advancement. The Governor aims, with the Arise Agenda, to achieve food sufficiency, state-wide industrialisation, job creation, and improve the welfare of the people through rural-focused projects and programmes.
There is a metaphorical likeness and parallel between this agenda, in its insistence on restoring Akwa Ibom State to her material, natural and human riches, and the significance of Easter, which prompted his address. To arise is to resurrect; to renew and be reborn. And in his speech, Umo Eno was mindful to list many of his projects and programmes, as well as the milestones achieved so far, in highlighting the steady rebirth and ascendancy of Akwa Ibom State.
In listing these milestones, he stated: “Since coming into office in 2023, we have embarked on the construction of over 1,300 kilometres of roads; some inherited, while others were started and completed by our administration.At our last EXCO meeting, we approved an additional 167kms of roads across the state. Some of the roads currently ongoing are scheduled to be commissioned during the celebrations marking our third year in office. Today, we make bold to state emphatically that there is no local government area in this state that we have not touched, either with roads, model primary healthcare centres, model primary schools, feeder roads, general hospitals like the one in Ukanafun, and others currently under construction.”
He also stated that his government is collaborating with the Golden Initiative For All, GIFA, the signature pet project of his late wife, Pastor Patience Umo Eno, to construct rural water projects in each of the 369 wards in the state. The water projects, being supervised by the coordinator of the First Lady’s office, Mrs. Helen Eno Obarekei, will be solar-powered, with Braithwaite storage tanks, to ensure clean and potable water for rural dwellers. He also said that youth friendly centres are being built in about 14 LGAs, aimed at channeling the creative energy of youths in relevant ICT and creative industries.
With his Arise Agenda, Governor Umo Eno is also intensifying the push to create the prmised agricultural revolution. The Ibom Model Farm and other farms around the State is benefiting from a N2 billion agricultural grant given to farmers, as well as from agricultural equipment and farm inputs provided to aid farmers, which have increased yields.He also promised that the state’s Palm Tree Crop Revolution, for which the sum of N2.5 billion was recently approved to purchase 620,000 oil palm seedlings will be launched soon, to create generational wealth. The vision, he says, is to help restore the place of palm fruit as a veritable source of wealth generation for rural dwellers.
Among other initiatives under the Arise Agenda are:
The recent approval of the sum of N20 million for ward-level cooperative societies in all the 369 wards in the state, designed to help people in the rural areas, especially women, to access funds to engage in trading and other economically beneficial undertakings. He stated that the 2025 N2 billion grant to traders “is making the expected impact and helping farmers and traders across the state to expand their businesses, thus leading to improved living standards of our people in the rural communities.”
The payment of over N82 billion, out of the N111 billion inherited as gratuities and other emoluments of retirees since 2012. He remains committed to liquidating the backlog, in order to improve the welfare of the state’s senior citizens, “hopefully before the end of our first term in office. This was a campaign promise we made, and I am happy to report that we are fulfilling that promise.”
Over 355 Arise Compassionate Homes across the entire state are also being built, “complete with solar panels to provide lights, water, and also provide living grants of N500,000 each to the poor and the neediest in our society. We are well on track to building and handing over 500 units to beneficiaries across the 369 wards before the end of our first term.”
The remarkably audacious Arise Palm Resort, which is a strategic approach to diversifying state’s economic base beyond oil, by investing in tourism and associated sectors. It is expected to be commissioned before the end of the year. There is also the Ibom International Hotel, the Arise City Shopping Centre, the Ibom International Convention Centre, and the Ibom International Hospital with over 24 departments, which will help promote medical tourism in the state and the nation. Renovation work is ongoing at the Ibom Hotels and Golf Resort and is expected to be completed for full operations before the end of the year.
The government is also currently embarking on 85 projects which span all critical sectors of growth and development across the State. The government is also investing in making the international airport terminal at the Victor Attah International Airport ready, preparatory to the commencement of international flights from the terminal, particularly by the state’s flagship airline, Ibom Air. So far, the governor has acquired four new aircraft, two CRJ 900 Bombardier and two A220 Air-bus for the airline. He added that work is ongoing in the Aviation Village and the international medical facility at the airport, all geared towards making the state an aviation hub in the South South geopolitical zone of Nigeria.
There is also the administration’s Ibom Deep Seaport, for which a detailed feasibility study has been completed, showing the viability of the project. For the first time, a comprehensive fact- sheet for prospective investors has been put together and this has ignited a lot of interest from investors. Equally an access road to the port has been constructed and the contract for onshore/ offshore geophysical studies of the port has been awarded, comprising onshore geotechnical surveys, crucial for any port development.
Within the Arise Agenda, a detailed roadmap on power towards the establishment of an Akwa Ibom electrification that will provide electricity for our people within the next twelve months is ongoing, following the passage of the Federal Electricity Act, 2023. As a consequence, the government has established the Akwa Ibom State Electricity Regulatory Commission and Akwa Ibom State Electrification Agency. The two agencies are required by law to kickstart the process of unboarding electricity generation and distribution in Akwa Ibom State.
Altogether, the Arise Agenda is offering for Akwa Ibom State the prospects of a rebirth, as well as the renewal of hope in the people. One step after another, the big stone which had laid stuck on the doorway to progress and prosperity is slowly being rolled away and a new state, built in the passion of the reverend gentleman who is the state’s governor, as well as in image of an Easter resurrection, is emerging. In the hearts of the people a light is slowly being lit and the future is becoming clearer, better, and renewed.
And Akwa Ibom too, with the Arise Agenda, is resurrecting into a new reality of promise and prosperity.
