A Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang wants Akwa Ibom government to clarify some issues surrounding the establishment of some recently inaugurated industries in the state.
On September 23, this year, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, a visitor to Akwa Ibom, inaugurated Electric Metre Manufacturing Company and Syringe Factory in Onna Local Government Area of the state. Governor Udom Emmanuel had flagged off the construction work of other industries in Akwa Ibom.
Speaking on Planet Radio FM 101, Uyo in a sponsored Akwa Ibom People’s Mandate programme over the weekend, Enang remarked “I appreciate what the governor is doing in the industrial sector, but I don’t like much of what he is doing in the management of the economy and few other things.
He continued “What is the shareholding of industries sited in the state? How many people own shares there? How much is Akwa Ibom State government investing in them?”
According to him, “let it not be that it is given to PDP people as a state cake, because it is not PDP money that was used in building those industries. It was the money, the Federal Government sent to Akwa Ibom State that was used in building and constructing those facilities. It is not the internally generated revenue of state that was used in constructing those facilities.”
On the award of contract for the reconstruction of Uyo-Odukpani Federal Highway, the Senator stated that “The contractors were waiting for the dry season to set in. The contract has been signed. Mobilisation has been made, and also they wanted to ensure provision is made for it in the 2018 budget, so that they don’t just mobilize to site and then no provision in the budget for it to continue.
We’re giving assurance the budget will soon be presented, and when the budget is presented the contractors will commence excavation. They have mobilised to site, but they have not commenced excavation. If you go there, you will see them doing marking and clearing the dual carriage angles, but are yet to commence excavation.”
He assured that “we are doing the preliminary work- the consultation with the legislature. The President had had a dinner with the Senate President and some Senators and my colleagues in the House of Representatives. This was part of the preliminary issues discussed and we are going to have another meeting with the entire leadership next week to finalise our discussion and all things being equal, the budget would be presented before the National Assembly next week or thereafter.”
