A’Ibom govt seeks closer ties with FG on projects execution
Akpan Umoh, Uyo
The Akwa Ibom Government has called for closer collaboration with the Federal Government and its agencies in the execution of public projects in the state.
Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom said when he played host to the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development during a courtesy call in Government House, Uyo.
Emmanuel, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr Moses Ekpo, said that for the purpose of proper synergy and needs assessment, there was absolute need for the federal government and its agencies to always build confidence in the states and ensure proper consultations towards the success of such projects.
There is need for such consultations, and periodic reviews have become indispensable to enable the two governments align their resources towards a common goal,” Emmanuel said.
He said that number of projects to be inspected during the visit were neither known to the government nor were their needs and locations assessed and rationalised.
Emmanuel said that based on the present inflationary trend occasioned by uncertainties of the global economy, there was need to ensure that government had value for resources committed into projects.
He stressed the imperatives of adherence to timelines during project delivery to enhance full benefits to the end users, adding that these were the very factors that have informed project successes of the Akwa Ibom Government.
The governor commended the Senate Committee for their visit and described the visit as an opportunity to examine what the executive arm of government had done.
He used the opportunity to call on the federal government to continue to carry the state government along in the distribution of its developmental projects in the country.
The leader of the team and former governor of Ebonyi, Sen. Sam Egwu, said that they were in the state as part of their oversight function to inspect finished and ongoing federal government projects within its jurisdiction.
He commended the visible developmental projects that the Emmanuel administration has executed in the state and described the state-owned Ibom Air services as the best in the nation’s aviation sector.
Other members of the team were Sen. Ashiru Oyelola, Sen. Akon Eyakenyi, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, Sen. DanjumaLa’ah and Sen. Cleopas Moses. He said that during the oversight, the team would visit the sites of 40 projects located in different parts of the state.
