Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, reiterated his commitment to ensuring that the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility at Victor Attah International Airport begins operations in full capacity within the life span of his administration to give the state the full benefits it was intended to.
The governor made his intention known yesterday when he led members of the State House of Assembly on an inspection of key projects at various stages of development in the state.
According to him, the visit was necessary to further advance the government’s position on accountability and transparency, since the MRO project has been on course since 2002.
“As I campaigned for governorship, we knew there were some projects that we must fine-tune for Akwa Ibom people to derive the full benefits.
“It’s a relay race; people run and give you the baton to run the finishing line.
“I believe and hope that our team here will be the one to get to the finishing line and be part of the history that has already been made”, he stated.
The governor, who was accompanied by his deputy Senator Akon Eyakenyi, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Elder Udeme Otong, the State Chairman of the PDP, Elder Aniekan Akpan, and some members of the State House of Assembly and State Executive Council, led the team to several other project sites, including the internal roads at the Dakkada luxury estate, the operational perimeter road, and the International Smart Terminal Building, among others.
At the Dakkada Luxury Estate, where he inspected the internal roads, Governor Eno lauded the level of progress at the site and commended the contractors for taking the projects so far despite not getting corresponding funding from the government.
He said, “I would like to thank the contractors—actually, the ones that have not been mobilised, but they have shown good faith. I think they have done a fantastic job given the reason I have just explained, but as I will go back to the office, we will try within the next two weeks to ensure that they are mobilised so that they can take full advantage of the dry season.”
The Governor therefore assured the contractors that the state government would allow housing developments in the estate to commence by the end of January.
At the New Terminal Building, the Governor acknowledged that there was a soft opening of the facility upon completion of the major construction works and remarked that it became expedient for the two arms of government to have a firsthand assessment to ascertain the finishing touches requirements to allow its full activation.
The governor, who extracted the commitment that the facility would be fully activated by April 2024, after being briefed by the contractor in charge, also committed to making funds available for the required fine-tuning.
“I had to come here personally with members of my Exco and members of the House of Assembly so that we could see things for ourselves and try to know where we direct funding. Yes, we had a soft opening, and now there is still some work to be done. So we budgeted for it. Thankfully, I came with the Honourable Speaker and leadership of the House.”
Earlier, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Udeme Ottong, commended the governor for running a transparent and open government, stressing that the funds appropriated for projects have been judiciously utilised.
The Speaker pledged the state legislature’s continued support to the executive in the appropriation of funds to ensure the delivery of democratic dividends to the people.
Also, the State PDP Chairman, Elder Aniekan Akpan, commended the Governor for keeping to his promise to the people of the state, stressing that the Party is proud of his development strides and lauding his initiative of taking out time to carry out an on-the-spot assessment of the projects.
The Luxury Estate Supervising Commissioner and Commissioner for Lands, Capt. Iniobong Ekong, rtd., noted in his overview of the projects that internal roads of about 16.8 km are being executed by eight contractors for speedy completion.
He highlighted roads that have been completed in the estate and others yet to be completed, stressing that the contractors will take advantage of the dry season to get the job done to pave the way for the next phase of the job execution, which is the actual construction of the houses.
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