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By Harris Emanuel, Uyo

A governorship aspirant in oil-rich Akwa Ibom state, Apostle Aniekan Akan Etim, has promised to link the state with other parts of the country by railway lines to ease transportation and fast track development.

He stated this while addressing faithful of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District of the state

Apostle Etim, a United States-based development expert, while rolling his plans for the state, stressed that he would give more emphasis to railway transportation, as part of efforts to lay a solid foundation for the physical and infrastructure development of the state if given the mandate to govern it.

On tourism and cultural development, he stated that local delicacies such as Afang soup, ekpang nkukwo, among others would be branded or canned and exported to foreign Countries as made in Akwa Ibom products.

Continuing he added, “ there is a greater and prosperous Akwa Ibom on the horizon, full of potentials and divinely imbued capacity, and with your mandate solidly behind me, I would steer the state to that envisaged land of fulfilment.

“The process of delivering to every citizen of the state regardless of ethnicity or dialect, a standard of living that can be handed down through the generations in a sustainable manner as a legacy with a vision for equality for all would have commenced.

“Having travelled so widely across the globe and gained so much knowledge, I intent to bring together all ethnic groups and cultures in the state and create a strong union and bond by a common destiny; develop a confident and ambitious state society based on the diversity of its cultural heritage. “

Apostle Etim also pledged to ensure food sufficiency through massive development in the agriculture sector of the state economy as according to him, the state was blessed with arable land and other natural resources which if harnessed would ensure massive employment and wealth creation for the people who.