Why Udom’s Completion Agenda Matters

Why Udom’s Completion Agenda Matters

“I have learnt greater lessons in the last three and half years. Consequently, I fully understand the task of leading our great State. By the grace of God and with your support and vote, I will improve upon our previous gains. Together, we will overcome all challenges and secure a greater future for our state by surpassing our superior performance. Our hope for the completion agenda is on God alone for it can be only God,”

By Dirisu Yakubu

His decision to dump the banking sector for public service came a bit surprising to those familiar with the intrigues associated with partisan politics in this part of the world. Scores of those who knew his dedication to the world of financial services felt politics wasn’t a field cut out for his gentlemanly disposition but in a little over three and a half years, Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom state has etched his name in golden ink, in the sands of time.

A graduate of Accounting with specialization in Corporate Governance, Udom has since his election in 2015 earned himself a place in the pack of political leaders dedicated to the course of service delivery. Within a short stint in office, his mark in industrial and agricultural transformation of the South-South state bears eloquent testimony of a leader who is already looking beyond oil as a major source of revenue.

Udom Emmanuel

With the 2019 governorship elections just a fraction of weeks away, the graduate of Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom who is seeking the mandate of Akwa Ibomites for a second term in office says he is irrevocably committed to the implementation of a “New Development Blueprint.”

The blueprint backed by an “overreaching master plan” will be formulated by a team of experts with inputs from stakeholders’ buy-in workshop, and will be staged in accordance with World Bank standards.

Away from public service, the governor has earned deserved accolades for his charity works targeted at improving the lives of the vulnerable lot in the society. In spite of his development projects spread across the state, the governor insists that the best is yet to come, stressing that a new mandate would cement his legacies in the hearts of the people.

Development milestones (2015-2019)

Not a leader to mouth job creation as a mere mantra, empirical evidence abounds of Governor Udom’s stewardship particularly as it concerns the initiation and completion of capital projects. The largest Syringe Manufacturing Factory in Africa, Pencil Production Factory, Fertilizer Blending Factory, Palm Kernel Crushing Plant, Toothpick Production Factory, Electric Digital Metering Solutions Manufacturing Company, Flour Mill Factory, Rice Mills and Plastic Manufacturing Factory are some of the many interventions of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP-led administration in Akwa Ibom state aimed at providing job opportunities for the people.

At various locations in the state are ongoing infrastructural projects aimed at complementing existing ones currently operating at optimal capacity. On why he made infrastructural development a key aspect of his administration’s policy drive, the father of four kids says a society were amenities in adequate supply is likely to make the people happy, while adding that the entrepreneurship disposition of the average Akwa Ibomite will get a boost with functional infrastructures.

The Coconut Plantation and Refinery, Oron International Market, Ibom Airlines, Plywood Manufacturing Factory, Ibom Deep Sea Port and  Waste to Wealth Factory belong to this category.

A firm believer in the power of agriculture to tackle the scourge of unemployment ravaging the country today, the governor constructed vegetable green houses and cassava micro-processing mills across the state as well as a massive cultivation of 2,100 hectares of cassava plantation in 15 Local Government Councils.

He procured a whopping 600,000 bags of fertilizers for distribution to farmers which contributed in no small measure to crop yield, thus boosting food availability and increased disposable income for farmers.

On the sphere of infrastructural consolidation and expansion, he constructed the 2nd Airport Runway, upgraded the Airport Main Runway to Category 2 and initiated and completed 15 major roads while 43 others are at various stages of completion.

To curb the menace of rural-urban migration, the Governor Udom administration completed electrification projects in Ikot Obio, Iwere, Itak Eyolor, Ikot Ekang, Ibiang Ikpe to mention but a few.

Healthcare delivery has received a major boost in the last three and a half years following the collaboration of the state government with the Federal Ministry of Health in the implementation of programmes on maternal new-born and children with focus on malaria, nutrition, immunization, HIV/AIDS, essential drugs and logistics management.

Education is free and compulsory at the basic level in all public schools even as the state government took over 17 community secondary schools for proper funding and administration. These schools are Technical College, Ikot Udom, Urban High School, Ikot Akpan Essien, Excellence Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikot Unya, Migrant School, Emeruke and Community Comprehensive Secondary School, Ekeya. Others include Union Secondary School, Ibiaku, Community Secondary School, Offi Uda, Eket Vocational Technical, Effoi, QIC Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikot Osudu, Comprehensive High School, Ekweme, Community Secondary School, Ikot Nsung Ikono, Christian Comprehensive Secondary School, Mbiabet Ikpe, Community Secondary School, Mbak Obio Itam, A.M.E Zion Secondary Commercial School, Mbokpu Oduobo and Comprehensive High School, Idu.

In pursuant of his poverty alleviation programme, Governor Udom trained thousand of youths via the Akwa Ibom Enterprise and Employment Scheme (AKEES) while over 200 youths picked randomly across the state were trained on solar power installation and maintenance. This is further complemented with frequent organization of entrepreneurship workshops to bring participants up to speed with national and global updates in their various spheres of interest..

The Completion Agenda (2019-2023)

Governor Udom says the next four years will enable him consolidate on the achievements recorded in his first tenure. According to him, “Our commitment to industrialization is irrevocable…through industrialization; we shall rewrite the Akwa Ibom economic history.”

In what he termed the “Completion Agenda,” the next four years will be dedicated to quality service delivery in the spheres of industrialization, agriculture, rural and riverine area development, human capacity development, small and medium scale enterprises as well as security.

His words, “In my 2015 manifesto, I had outlined five broad thematic areas which highlighted major development goals of my administration. The thematic areas formed my 5-point agenda with which we have together catapulted our great state into the premier league of states in Nigeria. Today, looking back at the 5-point agenda, I am thankful that “He who promised is faithful.’ The agenda has not only be actualized, it has also helped to create a quality of life proposition which exceeds expectation considering the topsy-turvy economic climate, thereby making our great state an attractive destination for investors.”

On what the next four years hold for the state should the people rally behind him like they did in 2015; Udom says the people would be in for bigger, more enduring things more than words can adequately capture.

“My Completion Agenda which will be pronged in nature comprising the continued drive for large scale Foreign Direct Investments and active development of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises is anchored on the 5-Point agenda that has driven my administration since 2015.

“I will give greater attention to Industrialization, Small-Medium-Scale Enterprises, Aviation Development, Maritime, Security, Rural and Riverine Area Development, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Human Capacity Development. With this, I will not only successfully reduce dependence on statutory allocation as the main source of revenue to the state, but will equally improve Internally Generated Revenue, enhance the already enabling environment to encourage more private investments and further create more employment opportunities.

“My dream is to improve the living standard of our people, provide basic infrastructure, tighten security, develop human capital and continue to boost services in education and healthcare,” he says.

On industrialization and investment, he says: “My major target will be to establish at least one Petroleum Refinery, one thermal power plant, one petrochemical plant, one Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant, one fertilizer manufacturing plant, and one steel plant in Akwa Ibom state before the end of my administration in 2023.”

His vision aimed at harnessing the creative energies of his people is captured in these words: “With my agenda of developing and expanding our economy through SMEs and consequently establishing Akwa Ibom state as the easiest place to start and grow businesses in the country, I intend to resuscitate vocational schools in Ikat Ada-idem, Ikot Akata and Uyo and convert them    to full-fledged Entrepreneurship Schools that will serve as the power house for my SME policy where training and retraining of youths, women and prospective entrepreneurs on both specialized and artisan skills as well as business will take place. This will significantly complement the AKEES program I initiated for entrepreneurial development, which has so far helped numerous ventures to start and grow their operations in the state.”

To facilitate easy movement of people and goods, the governor says he would spare no effort to ensure that in the next four years, roads construction and rehabilitation get the attention it deserves. “My 2019 Completion Agenda intends to achieve a complete network of roads in the state before the end of my tenure in 2023,” he pledges.

Given the popularity of the PDP in Akwa Ibom state and the vast support the governor currently enjoys across the 31 Local Government Areas; there is no doubt that the envisaged Completion Agenda will be implemented and not one of the sundry development blueprints that are today gathering dust in various parts of the country.