Akwa Ibom State may soon enjoy steady power as the state government has
put in motion a realisable scheme for power generation.
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel who spoke Saturday with
Government House correspondents after Akwa Ibom State Exco Monthly Prayer
Meeting at Latter House Chapel, Governor’s Lodge, Government House
correspondents in Uyo remarked, “I want to say that there is an embedded
scheme that we are actually doing in terms of power generation. We will
make sure we run with it and run very fast
“We under-promised to over deliver and I keep saying so. For us in the
next 16 to 18 months, we will have steady power supply. And as at today,
we have already seen that improvement in terms of result”, Emmanuel said.
He pointed out that the result in the last two weeks of administration has
shown that actualizing the feat was not an impossible but a realizable
task, stating “…You have seen the result because the result has been in
the past two weeks. There has been an improved power supply in the State.”
The governor expressed the belief that changes in the Federal Government
policies on power are factors that would enable the actualization of
steady power supply in the State in some months to come, recalling that
“This is the first time you could see private investor in both the DISCO
and GENCO. These are things that have change in the country that will
actually drive what is going to take place”, Emmanuel noted.
The governor reiterated that the thrust of his administration is focused
on people and would always focus on projects that have impact on the lives
of the citizenry, adding “Our scheme and policy thrust will have people in
mind. That is why you see us running with things that affect people most.
Don’t actually tell me who is not doing what or who did not do well. Tell
me what did not go well and I can correct it.
“I am not interested in who made the mistake, just tell me what was the
mistake and I will correct it. So, I don’t dwell on who did not do well,
just tell me what we didn’t do well and we will correct it. That is why we
are here and that is what we are doing right now.”
On the issue of Ibom Deep Seaport, Mr. Udom Emmanuel said the project,
which is in the exclusive list was exceptional to his heart and he dreamt
of having a trans-shipment port from the State, explaining that the
setting up of Technical Committee to fast-track the realization of the
Deep Seaport was necessary as the State was not ready to let the project
be under the supervision of any Ministry of agency.
“We don’t want project to be under Ministry A or B. This is why we bring
people who are experts to come and handle this and liaise with the Federal
Government Inter-ministerial Committee to realize this project. The matter
of deep seaport is on the exclusive list; it is not a State Government
infrastructure. We want people that can actually speak the same language
with all the surveyors and understand it. That is why we are bringing the
best to put forward and also let these people drive the process and we
will be able to give them the support,” he said.
Commenting on the three routes to wealth creation and development of any
city, the governor averred that “There are three gateways to wealth
creation and industrialization of any city – air, sea and road. We have
made a remarkable investment in terms of air and the road, adding that
”Akwa Ibom State has explored two which are Air and roads, and there was
urgent need to open up the State through the seaways.
”Where we are running very fast is through the sea and you see this is a
country that a lot of what we are consuming is coming through the sea and
we have a natural draught of at least 17.3 meters deep. So, there is no
other better place for somebody to discuss a trans-shipment port for the
enter sub-Sahara Africa outside Akwa Ibom. The local is perfect; the
draught is perfect; even the environment, everything is there”, Emmanuel
maintained.
During the prayer meeting, Rev. Daniel Akwatang reading from Gen. 6:1-14
and preaching on the theme Mandate, Alive Covenant emphasized the need for
people, country and government to keep covenant, and enjoined Christians
to do so with God.