The second year anniversary celebration of Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, PhD in office as the executive governor of Akwa Ibom State has garnered momentum of joy and felicitations across the landscape of Akwa Ibom State and beyond, with many stakeholders applauding his performance as superlative.
Oku Ibom Ibibio and President-General of Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers, His Eminence, Ntenyin (Dr) Solomon Daniel Etuk, JP, CFR, in a goodwill message, said royal fathers are happy that Governor Eno’s leadership has been “people-centric – very distinctive and full of new heights of accomplishments” within the last two years.
Ntenyin Etuk, who is the Patriarch of the Ibibios worldwide, in a goodwill message titled “Thumbs Up To A People-centric Leader”, noted that the governor, armed with a developmental blueprint, the ARISE Agenda, has accelerated development in Agriculture, Health, Education, Road infrastructure, Hotels and Tourism, Trade and Commerce, Security, Job creation and other sectors.
He said, “Your Excellency, you have reinvented our politics and united our people across political class and parties, ethnicity, religion and cultural spheres – a development that has deepened peace and belonging among all of our people in the state.”
Also speaking on the anniversary celebration, Professor Otoabasi Akpan, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Akwa Ibom State University, said Gov. Eno has demonstrated the hallmark of a statesman in his approach to governance and delivery of dividends of democracy.
Akpan said in just “two years, reports on all fronts of leadership and governance speak goldenly” of his administrative acumen, exploits and profits to the extent that he can only be assessed more as a statesman rather than a leader.
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He noted that as a mark of his readiness for the state’s governance, he propounded “an instrument, the ARISE Agenda, a beautiful piece of socio-economic blueprint, which in terms of concept of its doctrine is top-notch and in terms of implementation, is so far excellent.”
“All in all, I know that with Governor Umo Eno, the people of Akwa Ibom State in unison can always echo: A Daniel has come to Judgment. So far, he can be christened Umo Eno the Great, or most appropriately, Umo Eno, The Good Samaritan of the Niger Delta,” he analysed.
The Provost, Akwa lbom State College of Education, Prof. Daniel George Udo, in his goodwill message noted that Gov Eno has made outstanding accomplishments in various sectors including Agriculture, Health, Education, Tourism, Development and grants for SME owners, among others.
Prof. Udo said under his pragmatic administration, the governor has elevated the state’s standing, in which “Akwa lbom State has earned recognitions and accolades, with multiple awards as Best Governor of the Year from reputable institutions across Nigeria and beyond.
“The Akwa lbom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit, has benefitted significantly from your administration. We have witnessed notable reforms, including the ongoing construction of internal roads, which are at an advanced stage.
“The college has earned 100 per cent accreditation in both institutional and academic programmes. Your commitment to staff welfare and development is evident in the timely staff promotions and training opportunities,” he added.
Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, PhD, the Political Adviser to Governor Umo Eno, in his midterm assessment, said as of today, the people of Akwa Ibom State are fully convinced of the mission and vision of the governor, as he has through the ARISE Agenda, met their expectations.
Dr. Udeh said Akwa Ibom is growing in leaps and bounds as all sectors in the state are being positively touched by the governor, with communities in the rural areas being provided with good roads, health centres, model primary schools as well as empowerment grants being given to farmers and entrepreneurs engaging in SMEs.
He said the governor has given civil servants and retirees songs of joy to sing with regular payment of salaries, pension and gratuity, with over N60 billion already injected into defraying some accumulated arears of gratuities.
The Paramount Ruler of Uyo, HRM Edidem Sylvanus Effiong Okon, said they are happy to celebrate a worthy leader with life-touching impact to show and one who is a blessing to Akwa Ibom State.
Edidem Okon noted that the governor has demonstrated that he came fully prepared with a mission and vision to systematically transform Akwa Ibom State as outlined in his development blueprint, the ARISE Agenda, and described him an Action Governor.
“Your Excellency, you have given us every reason to support you and your administration, given the development programmes and policies we see currently in Uyo and other parts of the state. That you engage and draw input from communities and local governments on projects implementation has further elicited public confidence in your administration,” the royal father added.
The immediate-past vice chairman of Nsit Ubium Local Government Area, Mrs Ofonime Ntiense, was full of eulogy for Governor Eno, describing him as “a true servant-leader, a man of purpose and a man of many excellent parts”.
Mrs Ntiense said the line-up of activities commemorating this milestone – like the ongoing Federal Constituency Town Square meetings and empowerment initiatives – reflect not only his heart for the people but also his unyielding commitment to building a better Akwa Ibom.
She note that the governor has by his performances, in the past two years, far exceeded expectations, adding that he has effectively communicated his policies, responded to challenges with grace and innovation, and made community engagement a cornerstone of his leadership.
Elder Ephraim Etti, a former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council, while congratulating the governor for his second year in office, said he has given governance a human face.
“One cannot fail to appreciate the life-touching programmes and projects of the administration, especially payment of gratuity to retirees, but wish His Excellency to focus more on industrialisation for jobs creation as a means of putting food permanently on the tables of indigenes and residents rather than handouts.
“He has made governance to have a human face and his candour about state administration is commendable – touching the things he can do or has done, the things pending and the others he shall look into,” he added.
Engr. Akaninyene Etuk of the Directorate of Research and Development, Enugu State University, appraised the governor’s ARISE Agenda as being very creative in all empirical analyses, adding that he has changed the mindsets of the state political actors and major stakeholders and provided an atmosphere of peace in terms of political redistribution of the state economic resources and wealth.
Engr. Etuk was delighted that the governor has promoted small and medium scale businesses in the past two years, providing grants and business support that have increased the state’s revenue base in terms of internally generated revenue.
“His creative leadership model has brought an incredible transformation and efficiency in all sectors of the state’s economy with the projection index based on National Bureau of Statistics, that the state will be a global destination for new business innovations and ideas,” he added.
Also speaking, Pastor (Barr.) Solomon Abai, Principal Partner, Sobai Solicitors, Abuja, maintained that the beauty of Governor Eno’s leadership is that all segments of the society are engaged without discrimination, adding that he has done excellently in the area of infrastructure development.
“The governor is moving on very well in the area of infrastructure by initiating new projects and directing attention to completing the uncompleted projects of his predecessors, for instance, the Airport Road and the Ring Road, etc.,” he stated.
He, however, urged the government to adopt and sustain more inclusive strategies in addressing infrastructure deficits in the state so as to give every local government area a sense of belonging.
