Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has re-assured of the committment of his administration to delivering campaign promises of improved living standard and infrastructural renaissance as captured in his 5-point agenda.
Emmanuel who stated this in his Christmas message to the people of the state however maintained that his vision could only be achieved in an atmosphere of love, peace and tranquility as exemplified by Jesus Christ.
Reflecting on the essence of Christmas, the Governor stressed the need for love and sustainable peace among citizenry, whom he noted, are of a common stock not withstanding political affiliations.
He further said that as a government perpetually on the move for better well-being and food sufficiency, more would be done in health and agriculture sectors of the economy.
“It is a season of hope, of our determination to continue to forge ahead and deliver on our campaign promises; to leave this State better than we met her, and to proclaim with certainty that the Akwa Ibom story will not be reversed, that the things which had hitherto defined us negatively as a State and as a people shall be permanently cancelled and erased, and it will be Forward Ever Backward Never!
“The season of the Birth of our Lord and Saviour signifies peace and goodwill to mankind, and this peace which we have enjoyed in this State shall be permanent, and any resort or attempts to reverse it and reintroduce the orgy of violence and security challenges that this State had earlier witnessed before now, will, and shall never return.
“We will however, continue to ensure that issues concerning education, agriculture, health care or the social infrastructure are given the prime attention they deserve. We owe our children the responsibility of preparing them to be competitive in an information technology-driven world; we owe them the right education to make them future employers of labour, as opposed to being job seekers.
“Our healthcare delivery service remains top in our agenda. We promised to remodel, construct and equip with modern amenities General Hospitals in all the Ten Federal Constituencies. We have successfully done nine; the last in Ikot Abasi is currently on-going.” He explained.
The Governor said the promise to provide power for all by the end of 2021 was almost achieved pointing out that the remaining 265 villages out of the 2,274 in the state would soon be provided with power.
“We promised to provide Power for All by December 2021, which actually means the provision of electricity to the 2,274 gazetted villages that make up this State. As I speak, out of the 2,274 gazetted villages, only 265 villages yet to be connected to the national grid, that’s about 92 percent score in this regard.
“We hope to connect the remaining 265 villages to the national grid as soon as possible, thus meeting our target in this regard. We came to serve; to work diligently and quietly to improve the material and living standards of our people and nothing will distract us from achieving those set goals.
“Our infrastructural Renaissance is on the ascendance. Even our naysayers or worst critics will agree with us that all over the State, we are experiencing huge road and other infrastructural expansions. We remain committed to finishing our turn-key projects.
“Let us therefore, eschew bitterness and hatred from our body-politic. All Power belong to God Almighty and He gives such to whom He has qualified. God does not choose a man that is qualified; but he qualifies a man that He chooses.” Emmanuel reiterated.
On the fight against the spread of the Corona Virus, the Governor appealed for effective adherence to the safety guidelines and protocols.
“As we get set to roll out the drums of festivities, let me again reiterate the need for us to follow the simple but effective protocols aimed at curtailing the spread of the Covid- 19 virus. You may have been following in the news the mutation of a new variant called Omicron.
“At a time the world thought we had turned a corner with this virus, this Omicron variant has returned the world to the starting point. Travel restrictions are being imposed all over the world and some countries have painfully considered another round of lockdowns.
“Here in Nigeria, and in our State in particular, we have discovered some cases of this Omicron variant and it is incumbent upon us, to do all we can to curtail its spread. The simple protocols of social distancing, regular washing of hands with liquid soaps, the wearing of facemask, use of hand sanitizers etc. plus the robust healthcare facilities we have provided, had helped us a great deal in stemming the spread of this virus when it first appeared on our shores.
” We should remain committed to doing same with this new variant. We do not intend to impose another round of lock- down. This will however, depend on how we obey the protocols. This is a serious matter and should be treated as such.” He appealed.
