Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, on Tuesday declared that his laudable achievements in office in the past three years resulted from the support of God Almighty.
The governor made the declaration in a broadcast in the state against the background of the 2018 Democracy Day celebrated across the states of the federation.
He expressed happiness over his ability, based on the support of God, to fulfill most of his campaign promises, despite all odds.
According to him, the unflinching support of the people of the state had also been helpful in achieving his goal of improving the living standards of the state for the better.
His words: “The promises I made on the blessed day I was sworn into office are still fresh in my mind. I promised to be your servant- Leader, that, I have been. I promised to transform the economy through industrialisation. That we are doing. I promised to consolidate and expand our infrastructure, the 1,701 kilometres of roads and 35 bridges bear us out. I promised the security of lives and properties. One by one those who have become menaces in our society have faced the full and merciless wrath of the law.
“I promised to empower our men, women and youths. You are my witnesses that this we have done. I promised to give all Akwa Ibomites a sense of belonging. We have kept faith with that promise. I vowed to undertake rural development and integration. Look around and you will see this promise kept. You surely remember that I committed myself to transparency in government. Well that has received national acclaim.
“I promised a good working relationship with all the other arms of Government. The cordial relationship between the three arms of Government testifies to that. I vowed to boost tourism, commerce and trade. These we are doing. I promised to build on the foundation laid by my predecessor. This we are doing.
“It is noteworthy that we do what we are doing against the run of play. We defied the odds and the circumstances. We thrived in turbulent waters and steered our ship to safe harbours. We soared even when the oil prices dropped and were elevated when the nation had hyper-recession.
“How did we do it? We did it through God’s steadfast love and tender mercies. We did it through your support, prayers, and your unflinching faith in our Divine Mandate. By God’s grace we can state without any fear of contradiction that no Governor anywhere in this country has done more than what we have done in his first term. This is an unvarnished fact and facts they say are sacred.”
The governor said the achievements of his administration were so huge and all-encompassing hence the theme of this celebration: Only God.
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He said it was God that helped to steer the ship of development of the state to a great success.
He said his achievements cut across all sectors.
He said his government had developed the state in different areas including education, tourism, health, agriculture, infrastructure and investment in general.
In his broadcast, Emmanuel appealed to the people of the state to remain united irrespective of their different political leanings.
“Let me end this broadcast by appealing to our political class not to unnecessarily heat up the polity or fan the embers of rancour and disunity among brothers and sisters. As the political season dawns, let us remember that we were brothers and sisters before the coming of partisan politics, and we will remain brothers and sisters long after we had finished our careers in public service.
“Let us show love to one another even when we don’t agree or share same political orientations. As a one-time United States President, John Quincy Adams said ‘if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.’
“May the actions of our leaders inspire us to become more loving, less rancorous, and more united and faithful believers in the immutable essence and definition of the Akwa Ibom spirit.
“As your Governor and Leader, these are the values I embody and will continue to project them, now and in the future, with your prayers and support,” he said.
