Pastor Umo Eno, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate for governor of Akwa Ibom State, promised that if elected in the upcoming election, his administration would create an inclusive, diverse, and industrialized economy.
The governorship candidate said that his administration will take advantage of the state’s resources to develop a robust economy while speaking at the inaugural Umo Eno Town Hall Series, a special interactive session with professional bodies and interest groups in the state, held at the Ibom Icon Hotel, Uyo.
Further elaborating on his vision for the State, Pastor Eno stated that the plans would be made achievable by building on the accomplishments of previous governors, who he noted have advanced Akwa Ibom from a purely civil service, to an economically- viable State.
“Udom Emmanuel’s Administration has completely moved our State from a core civil service State to becoming an industrialised State. Udom’s Administration has opened the gateway of industrialization in Akwa Ibom State through land, air, and sea. And in terms of land, we can see roads and all of the constructions.
According to Pastor Eno: “Our theme is, ‘Connecting the Dots, Furthering Peace and Prosperity.’ We seek to consolidate on the economic gains of previous administrations. We envision to build a vibrant, inclusive, diversified economy using the abundance of our human and material resources,” he said.
The front-runner candidate pledged to work relentlessly with his team to lower poverty and unemployment throughout the state when discussing rural development.
“We have challenges that we must face and move our State to the next level. This is why some of us came up to run for the office of governor of our State. Issues to deal with include poverty reduction, food production and job creation. Poverty reduction for us is key, because if you get to the rural area, you’d see that our people need as much support as possisble. So, we hope to put adequate programmes in place that will cater to these people.
“We need to ensure that our youths have gainful employment. The challenge now is not just that they are unemployed, but they are underemployed because they do not have the skills for the right kind of jobs available.
“In tackling job creation, we want to develop the right skills. We want to ensure that they have the skill set that would make them employable as our new industries come on stream,” he said.
On other sectors of governance, the renowned entrepreneur pledged to boost agriculture, tourism and education and above all sustain peace in the State that will guarantee the success of his economic blueprint.
“If we need to really develop as a people, we need to go back to agriculture. We should be able to practice agriculture on a sustainable and commercial level. And we will strive to initiate strategies to revolutionalize agriculture. Certainly, Agro-business will be the way to go…We will continue to build on tourism and infrastructure and maintain the ones we have already.
On the health sector, he said: “What our Administration will do is to concentrate on primary healthcare delivery especially in our villages, wards, and units, where at least, every ward will have a functional cottage hospital, so that the people living in the rural areas can have access to medical facilities. We will initiate a digital pharmacy too. These things are not rocket science…” Pastor Eno said.
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