Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State government has issued Executive Order (EO) setting up the machinery for the commencement of roads construction as well as erosion control projects in the three senatorial districts.
Eno announced this at the weekend while addressing worshippers during the August edition of Government House Prayer meeting held at the Latter House Chapel, Governor’s Lodge, Uyo, the state capital.
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He blamed the delay in the commencement of projects execution on bureaucratic bottlenecks, saying that the State Executive Council (SEC) and the Finance And General Purpose Committee (FGPC) were yet to be constituted for approval of expenditure on the projects, which he said, was beyond his approval limit, stressing that “as a procedural person I don’t want to circumvent the law to avoid the wrath of the State House of Assembly.”
The governor recalled that he had earlier embarked on an on- the – spot assessment of the erosion sites and saw that the disaster needed prompt attention as houses were beginning to cave in, and reiterated government’s decision to ban the illegal borrow pit business because of its attendant risks of erosion in the areas where the borrow pit are excavated, and called on the Ministry of Environment to enforce the ban to the letter.
He said: “Next week, we are flagging-off some road projects. Why did we not do it before now? It is because the amount was more than what I could have approved solely as a governor.
I am a very procedural person. We needed to put Exco in place and constitute the FGPC so that the amount will go first to the FGPC to get the approval before the award of contract for the projects. I know people were watching. If you award before doing those things, the House of Assembly will come after you. So, I am also careful.
“Now that the Exco is in place, we will constitute FGPC on Tuesday, then we hope to get the approvals and flag – off the roads construction. I think we will do one in Oron, one in Ikot Ekpene and then we take care of the erosion sites in Uyo. I have visited the place; already houses are beginning to cave in so we need to work very quickly on those sites.
“I would like to also say that we have stopped the borrow pit business, and I want the Ministry of Environment to look out for that as urgent as possible.”
Governor Eno who used the occasion to shed light on activities of his government informed the people that the state administration has revoked right of occupancy for undeveloped lands in the state Industrial Park at Ekid Itam 3, explaining that people acquired lands in the park way back in 2015, and left it undeveloped.
He, therefore, urged the people having plots in the park to submit their business proposals to the Ministry of Trade and Investments, and the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP), indicating the scope of the business, timeline, number of people to be employed for proper monitoring, and assured that a fresh portion of land would be assigned the intended investor and would then be monitored for proper business execution.
He however acknowledged threats from the people affected by the revocation order and was emphatic on his determination to enforce the revocation order, insisting that he wants to create jobs for the teeming unemployed citizens through the industrial park.