Ahead of the one-year anniversary in office of Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, former President Goodluck Jonathan, has commissioned several life-touching projects in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, in a ceremony which also commemorated the 60th birthday of the governor.
Some of the projects included the 1.3-kilometre underground concrete flood control tunnel, the reconstruction of a section of Atiku Abubakar Way, with walkway, drainage, and solar street lights and reconstruction of adjoining 1km Afaha Ube Road.
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At the commissioning, the former president, lauded the state governor for his leadership strides having prioritized the needs of his people, which, according to him, has been demonstrated in his ingenuity of initiating and completing such major life-touching projects within his first year in office.
Making reference to a recent flood alert by Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Dr Jonathan described Governor Umo Eno as a proactive leader, saying that he is worthy of commendation and urged Akwa Ibom people to be vigilant against antisocial elements in the habit of vandalising public assets and infrastructure.
In his remarks, Governor Umo Eno, expressed gratitude to the former president, his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom people and well-wishers on his birthday.
He 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 demands soft infrastructure,” he added.
He said: “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.”
Governor Eno who described the Atiku Abubakar road and drainage interventions as a product of faith and circumstance, remarked 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 government’s vision in the project execution, calling on the people of the state to join hands in ensuring development in line with the ‘Arise Agenda.’
Presenting 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 de-flooding the entire stretch of Atiku Abubakar Way and its environs as well as restoring life to the city area.
The commissioner for culture and tourism, Sir Charles Udoh, and paramount ruler, Edidem Sylvanus Okon, speaking on behalf of the stakeholders and people of Uyo, respectively, thanked the Umo Eno-led government for bringing relief to the Afaha Ube people by solving a perennial and near hopeless flood situation in Atiku Abubakar axis.