Akwa Ibom State is becoming the answer, and a lead, to calls by many for the decentralisation of the establishment of industries in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, which due to its status as the capital of Nigeria for many years, attracted the citing of the bulk of industries in Nigeria.
Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration is quietly leading the industrial revolution in the state with the establishment of many manufacturing companies and industries that would no doubt impact the national economy and some neighbouring West African countries.
With the number of industries springing up in the state in the past three years, the state is priming itself as an alternative destination for investors and job seekers after Lagos.
The state, however, offers an edge over Lagos with its serenity, environmental calmness, security and greenery.
Akwa Ibom government officials noted that the governor’s efforts are geared towards reducing dependence on oil as the mainstay of the economy, with the aggressive establishment of industries across the state.
Created out of the then Cross River state on September 23, 1987, by the Ibrahim Babangida-led military administration, Akwa Ibom has a vast deposit of oil and gas. It is one of Nigeria’s wealthiest states because of its earnings from the country’s crude oil export.
Since its creation, the state has made meaningful progress in its 35 years of existence, so much so that anyone who has not visited the state in the last few decades may find it challenging to navigate around it.
Governor Udom Emmanuel is the fourth civilian governor of the state with over 6 million population.
At its creation, Uyo, the Capital City, was essentially a glorified village filled with dusty streets. The Emmanuel Udom-led administration has wholesomely raised it to a point and place where it is now seen today as Nigeria’s best-kept secret.
“The dusty streets have given way to beautifully manicured boulevards and a modern road network. The thatched houses that once dotted the landscape today have given way to magnificent homes that can rival those found in the exotic zip-codes around the world,” the Governor had pointed out in one of his broadcasts.
The governor, who said Akwa Ibom had achieved a lot to be proud of at 35, thanked his predecessors and members of his administration for their contributions to the state’s growth.
Top officials of the administration, among them Secretary to the state government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, Commissioner of Special Duties, Engr. Camillus Essien Umoh and the governor’s Special Assistance on Sport, Paul Bassey, led some journalists to see the industrial facilities and infrastructure and the vision behind their conception and establishment.
The industries and infrastructure which the administration has eventually lined up for commissioning this week to mark the state 35 years since its creation include the St Gabriel Coconut Oil Refinery at Mkpat Enin, Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Industry in Onna, the Ibom Green House, which produces several farm products for local consumption and export, a New International Airport Terminal, and the Repair and Overhaul (MRO) aircraft hangar project which is about 95 per cent completed according to officials.
The MRO can carry two 747 aircraft series, eight A-220 300 series and all the CRJs, and when fully operational, it will enhance the economic growth of the State.
The Hangar project will also serve both the Nigerian and African continents for repairing and maintaining their aircraft.
Besides, Ibom Air, the brainchild of Governor Emmanuel, has been making strides since its establishment three years ago, as it is fast becoming the airline of choice for many Nigerians.
There is also the state-of-the-art smart Dakkada Tower, a 21-storey building that provides office space for oil and the banking industry, and the reconstructed Eket 18000-seater stadium to complement the one already constructed in the state. The Eket stadium is the site of a football field once used by Mobile Oil.
There is also the reconstructed General Hospital in Ikot Ekpene and one of the first Covid 19 testing and quarantine centres in the country, and the Flour Mill Company. Besides constructing several roads, some dualized bridges across the state.
The Akwa Ibom Green House company is a social intervention project that produces tomatoes and pepper, which it sells at subsidized rates and hopes to raise its production level to 300 metric tonnes. The objective is to stop Akwa Ibomites from travelling distances to buy tomatoes and peppers from other parts of the country.
The Akwa Ibom hangar, which will be handed over for operation in December, will ultimately employ 300 workers and be able to handle aircraft maintenance for airlines across the country. About 100 Akwa Ibomites are already working at the Hangar.
Governor Emmanuel said the Akwa Ibom new airport and the Hangar project are no small projects to be undertaken by a state as they compare with the best in Africa.
The St Gabriel Coconut Oil Producing Factory is touted to be the biggest in Africa and one of the 7th biggest in the world; according to officials who explained the industry, when fully operational in a few weeks, would increase the revenue of the state and the economy of the country considerably.
The Coconut Oil Factory can process one million nuts daily and has been inaugurated in Ikot Akpan Okop, Mkpat Enin Local Government, Akwa Ibom State.
It has the potential to produce 66 tonnes per day and has supporting coconut plantations across the state.
The Jubilee Syringe manufacturing company has been endorsed by the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria and the Medical Association of Nigeria.
Another pillar project commissioned by the Governor, Udom Emmanuel, is the $34 million, 8.4km IBB Avenue flood control project, an 8.4km project which transverse across 18 communities in three Local Government Areas of the state.
