NGGT A’Ibom: Gov. Akpabio highlights projects, says state’s infrastructure beats those of some African nations

[FMINigeria]

                        NGGT A'Ibom: Gov. Akpabio highlights projects, says state's infrastructure beats those of some African nations

Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has said that his administration has put in place infrastructure and projects  unmatched by any African nation and which are positioned to make the state the preferred destination in Nigeria noting that the level of development recorded in the state is not necessarily premised on its financial strength but on his resolve to ensure that public funds are not mismanaged.

He made this known while speaking in Uyo during a courtesy visit by the members of the National Good Governance Tour on Thursday. "You think money alone can bring infrastructure. You will not remember that money could also be looted and that many countries in Africa could have done better than Akwa Ibom, what Akwa Ibom has done in 6 years. It beats what most countries in Africa have done in 30 years and yet they have billions and billions above what Akwa. Ibom", the Governor stated.

He said: "That's why this Good Governance Tour is very good...so that you will be able to tell a better story about African leadership".

He acknowledged the efforts of Permanent Secretaries in the state whom he described as the engine room of his Administration. "If they were not doing well or if they had not agreed that there should be a change there would have been no change.

"Akwa Ibom was not born in 2007, my state came into being in 1987, but the significant changes you are witnessing here, what the Minister has described and what many people will tell you even on this trip happened mostly between 2007 and now. And they have worked closely with me, some of them have retired and I give them kudos because things had to change.

"We are bringing about uncommon transformation in Governance. Now what are you going to see in Akwa Ibom State that will be different. You will see a lot of state projects but you will also see significant progress made by Local Government Administration. It will also interest you to know that almost every local government has evidence of government intervention in tarred roads. We have done about 300 brand new urban roads.

"You may not know the difference between Federal Projects and State Projects. That's why we are happy with what the Minister said- the synergy. Even from the Federal University Uyo you'll see up to 10 structures. We even built a brand new building and handed it over to the Ministry of Interior and a secondary school which we built and handed over to the Nigeria Police.

"We've done over 4,000 people oriented projects. Most of them in the area of electrification, in housing, renovation of schools, building of classroom blocks. Interventions in schools alone has over 2,000 classroom blocks. You will see over 4,000 completed rural projects and we have given light to over 1,700 villages.

In the area of Public Private Partnership in the Gas secotor, the Governor said "we partnered with a company in 2008. We deposited about 33 million dollars upfront to purchase gas from them and assist us to harness the gas reservoir on our shorelines and domesticate it for our use.

Governor Akpabio further disclosed that "in the next 1 month, precisely first or second week of April, depending on Mr. President's convenience, we will be commissioning the first Private Sector and Public Partnership Gas Plant. So the Gas Plant is ready and I want you to go and take a look at it. It will supply gas to the independent and we are trying to see how we can link it up to the NIPP Project in Calabar. We are producing gas presently in Akwa Ibom. Over 350million dollars invested.

He also said his administration has constructed the first underground drainage system in Africa. He said the drain would be aired on the National Geographic Channel to show how it works.

In the area of Education the Governor said his government has put structures on ground to ensure that every child goes to school in the state while also informing that five new general hospitals have been built.

Earlier, the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku recalled that Governor Akpabio had approved the National Good Governance Tour with all the Governors or their representatives present at the level of the National Economic Council when he chaired a 6 member committee set up by the Nigeria Governors' Forum,

"Having approved it, the Governors requested that we meet with them to look at the details of the programme. So that we could dot the 'Is' and cross the Ts as well as accommodate the observations of the Governors and their insight. I remember the Deputy Governor of Lagos, the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State and two others.

"The Governors made changes on the programme and one of the changes for example was that we should not give awards and grade governors. What the governors would rather want to see is that as we go through the states we should show projects, look at systems, look at challenges and we should expose the efforts governments at all tiers are making so that Nigerian people can make comparism since the programme is shown live especially on all the social media platforms. So we felt it was better to leave the judgment of these states to the people.

"We also agreed that this Tour would be nonpartisan and this is what has guided us since we started", Maku said

According to Mr. Maku, there is an ongoing debate in Nigeria on whether or note democracy is working in Nigeria or not. "This debate is brought about by bitterness of politicians. Because we compete against each other we don't want to admit that progress is taking place. It looks as if you say your opponent is doing well it is a sin. It should not be so, democracy is about development and I believe no matter the parties we belong to and no matter the interest we have in politic, we also have the duty to show the rest of the world that this country is making progress.

He further called for stronger synergy between the states and federal tiers of government stressing that the Federal Government was not in rivalry with the states saying such was uncalled for.

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Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria

[Shola Sholaz]

This governor is doing a gud job down there in his state. His indigens would be happy and glad to have him as a governor