Easter Message By Umo Eno: Our Faith Is Renewed, Reawakened; Salvation, Redemption Are Assured

Salvation, redemption are assured with the eternal truth. Today, we join Christian faithful all over the world to celebrate Easter, a sacred event in the Christian calendar which marks the death, the burial and triumphant resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In this season, our faith is renewed and reawakened; salvation and redemption are assured with the eternal truth as captured in St. Luke Gospel, Chapter 24:23: “Jesus is alive.” Death could not hold Him down.

This season therefore, is one that is defined by selfless love and sacrifice, so aptly proclaimed in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.” It is a season where hope is renewed, faith strengthened, and eternal life reassured.

As we mark this solemn yet triumphant season, let me again thank you for your prayers and support; for the faith you have reposed in us in our drive to move the needle of development of our dear state further, based on our governance blueprint, the Arise Agenda.

Let me thank you for believing in our judgment over the decisions we have taken based on the overriding state interest since we last celebrated Easter.

Together with your overwhelming support, we made a decisive and timely Progressive movement to align our State with the Centre, and given the unfolding political dynamics today, you will agree with us that we were right in our decision.

Since coming into office in 2023, we have embarked on the construction of over 1,300 kilometers of roads; some inherited, while others were started and completed by our administration.

At our last EXCO meeting, we approved an additional 167kms of roads across the state. Some of the roads currently ongoing are scheduled to be commissioned during the celebrations marking our third year in office.
Today, we make bold to state emphatically that there is no local government area in this state that we have not touched, either with roads, model primary healthcare centres, model primary schools, feeder roads, general hospitals like the one in Ukanafun, and others currently under construction.

In collaboration with GIFA, the signature pet project of my dear wife, Her Excellency, Pastor Patience Umo Eno, and under the guidance and supervision of the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Helen Eno Obarekei, we will construct, in each of the 369 wards in the state, solar-powered Braithwaite storage tank – rural water projects to ensure clean and potable water for our rural dwellers. Youth friendly centers are being built in about 14 LGAs in Phase One, aimed at channeling the creative energy of our youths in the relevant ICT/Creative industries.

We have intensified our push to create the agricultural revolution as outlined in our Arise Agenda with the Ibom Model Farm and other farms around the State. We are gratified to note the impact the N2 billion agricultural grant given to farmers is making, the agricultural equipment leasing company to aid farmers, and the farm inputs we have provided to farmers, which have increased yields, as well as the Palm Tree Crop Revolution which will be launched in the coming months.

This initiative, which will create generational wealth and, in the process, help restore the place of palm fruit as a veritable source of wealth generation for our rural dwellers, was the mainstay of our economic prosperity before the advent of crude oil.

The sum of N2.5 billion was recently approved by the Executive Council for the purchase of 620,000 oil palm seedlings for this noble exercise. When launched, we expect our people to get involved.
Recently too, we approved the sum of N20 million for ward-level Cooperative Societies in all the 369 wards in the State. The structure to manage this programme was inaugurated during our last EXCO meeting and is headed by the Deputy Governor.

This programme will help our people in the rural areas, especially our women, to access funds to engage in trading and other economically beneficial undertakings. Similarly, the N2 billion traders grant of 2025 , we are happy to report, is also making the expected impact and is helping farmers and traders across the state to expand their businesses, thus leading to improved living standards of our people in the rural communities.

To date, we have paid over N82 billion out of the N111 billion we inherited as gratuities and other emoluments of our retirees since 2012, and remain on track to liquidate the backlog, hopefully before the end of our first term in office. This was a campaign promise we made, and I’m happy to report that we are fulfilling that promise.

We had promised to touch the lives of the downtrodden and the most vulnerable and today, as we speak, we have built and handed over 355 Arise Compassionate Homes across the entire state, complete with solar panels to provide lights, water and also provide living grants of N500,000 each to the poor and the neediest in our society. We are well on track to building and handing over 500 units to beneficiaries across the 369 wards before the end of our first term.

We are investing in tourism and its ecosystem as a strategic approach to diversify our economic base beyond oil. The Arise Palm Resort, a true marvel of human ingenuity, is expected to be commissioned before the end of the year.

Work is ongoing at the Ibom International Hotel, the Arise City Shopping Centre, the Ibom International Convention Centre, and the Ibom International Hospital with over 24 departments, which will help promote medical tourism in the state and the nation. Renovation work is ongoing at the Ibom Hotels and Golf Resort and is expected to be completed for full operations before the end of the year.

Apart from the above, we are currently embarking on 85 audacious projects that span all critical sectors of our growth and development across the State. This, without a shadow of doubt, you will agree with us, is truly phenomenal, and we remain dedicated to its implementation regardless of the antics of naysayers.

We have invested heavily in making our international airport terminal at the Victor Attah International Airport ready, preparatory to the commencement of international flights from the terminal soon by our flagship airline, Ibom Air.

We again thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for approving the international status of the airport through the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chief Festus Keyamo, SAN, and indeed all other stakeholders in the sector.

We remain committed to making Ibom Air the dominant airline of choice in Nigeria. So far, since we came in, we have acquired four aircrafts, two CRJ 900 Bombardier and two A220 Air-bus for the airline.
We are expected to take delivery to take another Airbus before the end of the year.

Work is ongoing in the Aviation Village and the international medical facility at the airport, all geared towards making our state an aviation hub in the South South. We believe this will boost our tourism and improve economic activities for our people.

Our state still remains one of the safest in Nigeria, and we thank our security commanders posted to our state for the great work they are doing in deep collaboration with our Ibom Community Watch and the general public.

Let me state here in clear terms, that this administration has taken bold and decisive actions aimed at the actualization of Ibom Deep Seaport.

Since we came into office, we have undertaken and completed a detailed feasibility study, showing the viability of the project, which is a critical starting point in any business venture.

We have, for the first time, put together a comprehensive fact- sheet for prospective investors and this has ignited a lot of interest from investors.

We have equally constructed access road to the port and awarded the contract for onshore/ offshore geophysical studies of the port and this comprises onshore geotechnical surveys- a crucial step for any port development.

On the 8th of this month, the committee on the Ibom Seaport project will be addressing and providing more details on the steps we have so far undertaken to actualize Ibom Deep Seaport.

Let me again reemphasize that the actualization of this project is not a sprint but a marathon and we are putting the building blocks to guide us along the way. While I understand that our people are in such a hurry to realize the deep seaport, we need to follow due process and ensure that things are done right.

On the power sector, following the passage of the Federal Electricity Act, 2023, and the Power Summit we held last September, we have today a detailed Roadmap on Power which we are working closely with our consultant to implement.

Umo Eno

Two days ago, I held a joint EXCO meeting with the Chairmen of all the 31 local government areas, where they were well briefed on the concrete plans to provide electricity for our people within the next twelve months.

They were also briefed on the steps to provide the unserved or off -grid areas, which is mainly in our rural areas.

We have consequently established the Akwa Ibom State Electricity Regulatory Commission and Akwa Ibom State Electrification Agency. The two agencies that are required by law to kickstart the process of unboarding electricity generation and distribution in our State.

In the coming weeks, we will announce the names of the five professionals who would run the Commission and I am hopeful that the State House of Assembly will confirm their nomination expeditiously.

We feel the pain that our people are going through with epileptic power supply. Even though this is a national problem, but we are on the way to provide regular electricity to our people.

This is not a broadcast meant to showcase our scorecard; we will do so exhaustively as we approach our third anniversary.

Let me assure you, my dear people, that no matter what we may be facing, we will Arise together and overcome our challenges.

Just as the Risen Christ brought hope, redemption and salvation, we will continue to roll our sleeves up and work to improve the welfare and well-being of our people. We will create a future that is defined by hope and faith in the ennobling ideals of a Christ-centred government we had promised you.

As the political season unfolds, I urge you, as I always do, to ensure that politics does not divide us; that we should play politics of conviction and not of confrontation or attrition.

May the joy that Easter brings fill our homes and lives with love, progress and reassure us that tomorrow, indeed, will be better than today.

Happy Easter to us all!

God bless Akwa Ibom State, and God bless the federal Republic of Nigeria.