Aniefiok Christopher
Open Forum has decried the delay in the implementation of Ibom Science Park over what it described as ‘‘mismanagement of the project’’ by past administrations in the state, leading to a sorry state of the project.
Consequently, the organsation has called on the state government to order forensic audit of all State-owned investments and AKICORP, the supervising agency presiding over the failure of government investments.
Addressing journalists in his office, Mr. Matthew Koffi Okono, the Forum’s President, urged the Governor to direct the officials at AKICORP, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Trade and Investment, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to furnish him with information on MoUs, Agreements, Budget Appropriations, all relevant records and reports on the Ibom Science Park from inception of the project till date.
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Okono suggested a meeting between Governor Eno and Obong Attah on the project, and stressed the need to seek opinions of private sector experts, including potential investors on the viability of the project under a PPP model.
He further opined the need to ‘‘assure the host community that their land is safe and would be used in the overriding public interest, not given free to any Tom, Dick and or Harry. The value of the uncompleted structures at the Science Park site must have appreciated in price given the high inflation.’’
‘‘Consider overhauling his team, especially where those who are supposed to have institutional knowledge to advise His Excellency on the Science Park Project failed to do so. No disloyalty and incompetence can compete with such unpatriotic acts, truly they failed in their responsibilities.
‘‘Ban ill-informed aides from making reckless statements and writing nauseating articles over a project they know little or nothing about. A number of them in an attempt to show loyalty and workings are demarketing His Excellency as wasting state resources on appointees that add value to the governance of the State.’’
Okono called on the governor to reverse to decision to make a U-turn on the project, pointing out ‘‘after thorough investigation is likely to see the error in judgement, in equating a 100% state dependent Youth Development Centres with a Core Investor-driven EPZ Science and Technology Park with capacity to generate billions to the IGR of the state as against a drain pipe.’’
The reformer also called on the Governor to grant the Prof Hilary Inyang-led team of investors audience to brief him on their expression of interest to develop the Science Park with $2.5b with linkages to the 31 LGAs and Ibom Deep Seaport with $8b. Other accompanying mega projects will also be on the table.
‘‘Foreign investors should be assured of consistency in policies in the state and the protection of their investments. Policy flip-flops scare away investors, foreign or local,’’ he noted.
Ibom Science Park vs Various Administrations
During Chief Godswill Akpabio administration, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly set-up an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the Science Park Project over alleged “abandonment” of the project by the contractor after payment of a huge percentage of the contract sum.
Straightnews gathered that of the N5.6 billion total sum, N5.3b or 95 per cent was paid upfront. The Akpabio administration confirmed that the work done was not worth more than N400 million. It was also reported that two consultants were directed to refund various sums ranging between over N100 million and N300 million.
It was alleged that equipment worth N2 billion for the Park, being part of the contract sum was imported and ‘’dumped’’ at the location.
On why the project was abandoned, Akpabio declared ‘‘The Science Park was contracted at about N5.6b and from the records about N5.3b had been paid upfront to the contractor, a South African Company and nothing was done. But the Ibom Hotels and Golf Resort and Akwa Ibom International Airport were to me, ongoing projects and I went in and completed them.”
Then came in Governor Udom Emmanuel with the process of engaging foreign investors for the reactivation of the Ibom Science Park.
On Tuesday, December 18, 2015, an MoU was signed between the state government and a foreign investment company: SERGE Capital Investment Ltd.
Speaking through his SSG, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem after the signing of the MoU, Emmanuel told Mr. Greg Todd, President of SERGE to develop the Ibom Science and Technology Park and pull global Investors to complete the infrastructure.
“Furnish the state government with the implementation schedule of the projects detailing the commencement period of each of the project and the area of assistance it expects from Government,” he said.
In his response, Todd was quoted to have informed the State Government of his company’s readiness to deliver on the job, assuring that the implementation schedule will be submitted to the Government in no distant time.
That was the last heard by the public about the SERGE deal.
Again on Thursday, December 19, 2019, a Chinese firm, Ibom Blue Sea International Holdings emerged as a new investor for the development of the Science Park. The sum of €500m was said to be the amount to be invested in the project.
The project was renamed as Ibom Blue Sea Science and Technology Park Development Company Limited.
An elaborate flag-off ceremony that brought an array of critical stakeholders, including ex-Governor Emmanuel, Obong Victor Attah, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, Senator Effiong Bob, the Paramount Ruler of Itu, Edidem (Dr.) Edet Akpan Inyang, the Consul-General of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Chu Mac Ming, Mr Chen Xuewen, Chairman, China Blue Sea International Holdings and an array of Chinese nationals and top Akwa Ibom Government officials.
The project was said to boast of a University of Technology, Vocational Centre, Five-Star Hotel, Hospital and Power Plant.
While performing the flag-off ceremony on December 19, 2019, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem for the governor said “We’ve created an environment for people to come in and invest, we are calling on other investors, other Chinese companies that are here, let them come. We will collaborate, we will make sure they invest in Akwa Ibom and reap returns on their investment.”
Ekuwem described the vision of the Science Park as a laudable industrial development, and commended Emmanuel’s decision to take over the project from where former Governor Victor Attah stopped.
He commended the ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel for performing remarkably well by attracting industries to the State, adding that there would be rapid socio-economic development of the state as the operations of the project will be equated to America’s Silicon Valley, Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor, South Africa’s Innovation Hub and others.
Obong Attah said ‘‘“I have come here because I feel really fulfilled and I have come to thank Governor Udom Emmanuel, not just because he has revived what I know is going to be a life-transforming project, but because in so doing, he has brought an end to that era of destructive politicking whereby we turn our backs on the projects of our predecessors. That, for me, is a landmark lesson for Akwa Ibom people to learn, particularly those who are seeking office.”
In his remark at the event, Mr. Chen Xuewen, the Chairman, China Blue Sea International Holdings commended the business acumen of Governor Udom Emmanuel and described Akwa Ibom as a veritable environment for economic transformation which will engender small and medium scale entrepreneurial growth.
The project never witnessed any form of reactivation after the ceremony. The Akwa Ibom State Government attributed the delay to the COVID-19 pandemic, promising that the project would kickstart as soon as the lockdown was over. The lockdown was eventually over but the Chinese “investors” in the Ibom Blue Sea Science and Technology Park ‘‘disappeared.’’
The Emmanuel administration made no official statement on the state of the agreement and terms till the end of his tenure in 2023.
During political consultations ahead of the 2023 Governorship primaries and general election, Pastor Umo Eno, then Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources led by an array of top government officials, legislators and politicians to formally consult Obong Victor Attah about his aspiration.
On his promise to develop the Science Park Project by the Akwa Ibom State Government, Eno said “Today the grace of God has found me out through the benevolence of Governor Udom Emmanuel. The Akwa Ibom Project has to be furthered. My goal is to further agriculture, Industrialization, Employment, and with Ibom Air, make the state a destination.
‘‘Your Excellency, Ibom Science Park will be revived as you envisaged. I am pleased to be scolded, tutored at your feet,” said Eno.
Obong Attah in his response admonished Pastor Umo Eno to be a Governor for all, unify Akwa Ibom and read all documents before signing.
“I was the one who presented you, not the one who chose you because there is no one person that could have chosen you. Please, read all documents before you sign but most importantly, let this be a Government for all Akwa Ibom people.”
After election in 2023, Eno, using his ARISE Agenda Campaign Manifesto and its eventual transformation into his administration’s Economic Development Blueprint, promised the implementation of the Ibom Science and Technology Park.
The budgets of 2023 and 2024 had provisions for the review of the project.
On Monday, December 29, 2025, Open Forum anchored by Citizen MKO on Memories 96.5FM Uyo, Akwa Ibom, hosted Prof Hilary Inyang, NNOM, the Founding Chair and Distinguished Professor, Global Institute for Sustainable Development, Advanced Analysis and Design (GISDAAD), Concord, NC, USA, Former US Ambassador’s Scholar to Ethiopia, Chairman, Akwa Ibom Think-Tank on Education, Board Chairman, United Infrastructure Systems (UIS) Consortium and Chairman, UIS-Led Akwa Ibom Progress Consortium.
On the live radio programme, Prof Inyang announced the expression interests of two foreign Investors and financiers to invest $8 billion in the development of Ibom Deep Seaport and another, $2.5 billion in the development of Ibom Science and Technology Park as an Industrial Park with linkages to the 31 Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State as well as other institutions who are most likely going to require the services of the Park.
Thereafter, Open Forum officially requested Governor Umo Eno to grant Prof Hilary Inyang audience to brief him on the amazing prospects for the two critical and transformative projects suffering neglects despite tremendous potentials to transform the fortunes of the people, state and country.
The letter captioned: “RE; DEVELOPMENT OF IBOM DEEP SEAPORT, IBOM SCIENCE PARK – A REQUEST FOR AUDIENCE WITH DISTINGUISHED PROF HILARY INYANG, FOUNDING CHAIR AND DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR, GLOBAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, ADVANCED ANALYSIS AND DESIGN (GISDAAD), CONCORD, NC, USA” dated December 31, 2025 was delivered and received by the Office of the Governor on the same date.
On January 6, 2026, the Governor held a meeting with Prof Hilary Inyang in company of Chief Dr. Joseph Akpan, the Consortium Coordinator and Liaison to the Board Chairman.
The outcome of the meeting is a follow-up letter from United Infrastructure Systems (UIS) Ltd to His Excellency titled: “RE: PRESENTATION OF A CONSOLIDATED STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK FOR AKWA IBOM STATE HEADLINED BY THE IBOM DEEP SEAPORT, AS A FOLLOW-UP TO JANUARY 6, 2026 MEETING WITH YOU IN UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE.”
The letter was delivered and received at Governor’s Office on May 12, 2026.
Same day, Sen Godswill Akpabio announced at an APC Stakeholders Meeting at the Banquet Hall of the Government House that he has secured an investor to develop the Ibom Deep Seaport with $10 billion and Ibom Power Sector with $6 billion.
The UIS Consortium teams have been in Nigeria for quite some time, waiting for the requested appointment, and are optimistic the Governor will invite them despite the failure of the Commissioner earlier assigned by His Excellency as the Liaison between the Governor and Prof Inyang to respond to all forms of communication to facilitate a meeting for about two months and counting. The frustration of the prospective investors led to the May 12, 2026 direct correspondence to His Excellency.
Among the projects to be presented to the governor by UIS Consortium are a proposal for Ibom Oil and Mineral Exploration, a PPP in Health-care System Management and a Digital Ecosystem for the Management of the Akwa Ibom State Education System based on established Education Roadmap. A novel initiative on how to drive development in Akwa is also to be unveiled to the Government and people of the state during the meeting.
Later, Governor Eno said his administration is not interested in the Science Park but adopted establishment of Local Government Youth Development Centres as perfect replacement of the Park.
In response to an appeal the Paramount Ruler of Uyo, Edidem Sylvanus Okon at AKADEP Headquarters, Uyo on May 28, 2026, the Governor vowed not to develop the Ibom Science Technology Park Project initiated in mid-2000 by former Governor Victor Attah administration.
He insisted that the project has been overtaken by advancement, hence his administration’s decision to decentralise Science Park by replacing it with Youth Development Centres in the 31 local government levels.
“There is nothing like Science Park. Science Park is now in laptops. We have replicated the Science Park in the Youth Development Centres. If you go to each of the youth development centre, you will see we have space for creative thinking; we have laboratories in each local government area. We have decentralised the Science Park. I am going to give that land to any coming investor free so that we stop talking about the Park. Government had paid compensation and claimed the place.
‘‘What was applicable 20 years ago is no more applicable now. The world is evolving, technology has taken a different round. So let us not continue to believe in Science Park. I have my own projects. I was not elected to come and complete all abandoned projects by past administrations,’’ he added.
The Genesis
The Obong Attah’s administration planned to execute and complete the Science Park captured in the 2006 Budget as one of the Core Capital Projects captured in Akwa Ibom State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (AK-SEEDS), the Economic Blueprint adopted in 2004.
The total cost of the project was put at N6 billion, and the contract was awarded to a South African company, SBJ. As captured in the Finance News, May -June 2006, Vol. 1 No 4, the project got a budgetary allocation of NN1 billion in the 2006 budgetary provision and N5 billion in 2007.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo performed the ceremonial groundbreaking of the construction of project in 2006 with 2007 as the completion deadline.
Expert’s View on Technology Village
Elder Etukudo Essien, a Power Analyst and Consultant with 37 years of professional experience and former Resident Project Manager, Government House Projects, reacted to the Governor’s U-turn in implementing the Science Park Project.
Under the title: “Technology Village and Science Park: Catalysts for Scientific and Technological Development,” he said: “A Technology Village, often referred to as a Science Park, Technology Park, Innovation Park, Research Park, Technopolis, or Innovation Hub, is a specially planned environment established to promote scientific research, technological innovation, industrial development, entrepreneurship, and knowledge-based economic growth.’’
Essien listed the benefits of a Technology Village to include Promote scientific research and innovation, Enhance technology transfer from research institutions to industry, Create employment opportunities for scientists, engineers, and skilled workers, Encourage industrialization and local manufacturing and Attract domestic and foreign investment.
Others are improving national competitiveness, supporting economic diversification, fostering entrepreneurship and SME development, increasing export potential and accelerating digital transformation.
For Akwa Ibom State, he said ‘‘a Technology Village or Science Park could serve as a strategic platform for power and energy technology development, Renewable energy, manufacturing, Electrical equipment assembly, ICT and software innovation and Oil and gas technology services.
Others are Marine and offshore engineering, Agricultural technology advancement, Technical and vocational skills development, Research and development partnerships and Industrial cluster development.
“Such a project would not only stimulate technological advancement but also position Akwa Ibom State as a regional centre of innovation, industrial excellence, scientific research, and sustainable economic development,” he concluded.
