- Honours Predecessors As State Celebrates Anniversary
Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umoh Eno has ruled out the possibility of a new state being created from the present geopolitical configuration called Akwa Ibom. He said he would leave the state the way he met it-one united state.
This came as the governor celebrates the 38th anniversary of the creation, recognising all those behind the creation of Akwa Ibom, but warning that all those who have been engaged in nocturnal meetings and plotting his removal from office to desist, because it was his right to earn a second term.
Eno is believed to be at loggerheads with his predecessor and former political godfather, Elder Udom Emmanuel. While Eno now fraternises with the senate president, Senator Godswill Akpabio, he has sacrificed his relationship with the man who brought him to power.
Udom and Akpabio ceased to be friends towards the end of his reign as governor. He was brought into power by Akpabio. As Eno battles to secure a re-election, he may have realised that Akpabio, not Udom, will make it happen for him, hence his decision to join Akpabio in the APC, leaving behind Udom in the PDP.
As part of activities to mark the anniversary, Eno had made a veiled reference to his predecessor, when he said he was aware of clandestine moves by some persons to control political structures in the state.
But he said as governor, he was in charge of the structures and nobody should bother trying to control the structures. Although, it was the structures set up by Udom that brought him to power.
He did not say in clear terms, if Udom was fighting to take back the structures, but he said sarcastically, that he was privy to the venue of the nocturnal meetings and could storm the place if he wished.
For those wishing to get a new state out of Akwa Ibom, Eno told them to forget the idea because it would not work if he was not in support. He said he would block the move. “What I received from God (one united Akwa Ibom), I will preserve till the day I leave office.
“We have one united Akwa Ibom. Those struggling to have another state will not succeed because Akwa Ibom remains one. My focus is on building a united Akwa Ibom.”
In a broadcast on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the state’s creation, Eno said “it has been a journey of renewal, of phenomenal growth, of undiluted peace, of the deepening of bonds of unity, kindred spirit and pride in our collective identity.
“It has been a journey that will gladden the hearts of our founding fathers who had prayed, consulted and dreamed of a homogeneous state of shared values, ethos and drive, but their hope was not realized in their time.
“Thirty-eight years ago, that dream came alive with the creation of our dear State, the Land of Promise – a land of valiant and resourceful people, Akwa Ibom State.”
He thanks the former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida,(rtd.), for creating the state, calling it a unique gift. “May God continue to bless him with good health, a sound mind and spirit.
“Thirty-eight years ago, this state, especially the capital city of Uyo, was for all intents and purposes, a glorified village – a rural backwater bereft of modern infrastructure. Today, thirty-eight years later, our state has become the destination of choice, the nation’s best kept secret.
“In place of dusty narrow streets, some of which looked like bush tracks, we now have possibly the best road network in the nation. Our people, long thought to be mostly good at performing domestic chores, have all arisen and are holding commanding positions across the world in various professions.
“Uyo today is home to some of the most elegant housing estates in the nation. A thriving airline, Ibom Air, carries our flag of excellence in the nation’s aviation sector – signposting our ascendancy in that sector.
“In sports, we are the official FIFA and CAF designated host of World Cup and African Cup football matches. All over the State, the energy is infectious, our people are hopeful, and the sunny disposition on what the future holds is palpable. Our economic fundamentals are strong and resilient as we ARISE together to build a golden future that unlocks our potentials.
“It has been thirty-eight years of God’s blessings – of lifting up when there appeared to be a casting down, and we should all be very proud. Let me at this time pay my glowing tributes to all our past Governors.
“These leaders were passionate, determined and focused in moving our State forward, and we should celebrate and honour them for their service to the State, rather than disrespecting or castigating their legacies. We owe them deep respect.
Today, we are determined to expand the frontiers of all those developmental gains and prime our State away from dependency on oil to tourism, which is the new black gold.”
