By Peter Egwuatu

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio declares open the maiden Capital Market Committee (CMC) Retreat held in Uyo recently. The Governor spoke on his administration’s target to industrialise the state as well as Nigeria’s Vision 2020 target. He also revealed his administration’s intention to approach the Nigerian capital market for bond issuance. Excerpts:

What did you do to transform Akwa Ibom State to reach the present level of development?

When I came on board as the governor of Akwa Ibom State, my team looked at all the uncompleted projects we inherited from my predecessor and decided to complete the viable projects and then initiated others that have added value to our people.

Akwa Ibom now has almost 2,200 roads that have been constructed to meet international standards. Akwa Ibom International Airport is the best in this country so far because it meets international standards as best practices were employed in the building of the airport.”

We have provided free medical services for the aged and children between the ages of zero and five years. Education in Akwa Ibom State is free and compulsory and in addition to that, the state government pays for all candidates sitting for NECO and WAEC examinations. Workers in the state, in addition to the regular salary paid monthly, earn double salary in December which the civil servants now call AKPABIOMBER because they have never seen the type before.

How do you intend to industrialise the state?

Well, the infrastructure we are providing will attract investors to the state. The infrastructure will help reduce the cost of doing business. Akwa Ibom democracy is the real definition of democracy as it is practised in civilized countries.

It has a real human face because democracy means government of the people by the people and for the people. We are going to build on industry and those things that should woo industrialists to the state. We have good road network; even taking over Federal Government roads because the roads are being used by the citizens.

My government has set aside N20 billion for the purpose of industrialising and we are calling on investors to come in because every local government has industrial estates where foreign investors will be given free land so that our youths can be employed. We believe that once our youths are occupied, crime will be reduced in the society.

“We believe that once our youths are occupied, they will not be idle and think of anything evil. Therefore, we want to create employment which will bring about wealth. Our vision for this term is employment and wealth creation and everything is in place to incubate this vision.

You talked about raising funds from the capital market, how much are you looking at and when?

Yes, we will need the help of the capital market to be able to provide some of the things I had earlier mentioned. I commend the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh and her team for bringing the CMC Retreat to Uyo and see the rate of transformation going on in the state.

Gov Akpabio

It is our hope that the discussion at the meeting will review the past and proffer solutions that will revamp the market. For us as a state, we have mapped out what we intend to do. Once we tidy up our financials, we will come to the market to raise funds to be able to complete some of our projects.

“N200 billion will not be enough for us to provide all the facilities we have planned to provide. We will need more than that money, so we hope the capital market will assist us. We will come to the capital market by the time we tidy up our financial statement and other necessary things required by the regulatory authorities.

What are you doing in terms of improving the standard of education in the state?

My vision for education in Akwa Ibom State is to make it a functional, qualitative education which will serve as the catalyst for development, job creation, poverty alleviation and as a foundation for our envisaged science, technology and industrial revolution.

I have bequeathed to the people of Akwa Ibom State a free and compulsory education policy.

Under this policy, Akwa Ibom children of school age from primary to senior secondary level go to school free. What makes the Akpabio brand of free education unique is in addition to free tuition, the state pays a subvention of N100 per primary school pupil and N300 per secondary school student to cater for logistics and expenses for the administration of each child so that the school heads would have no excuse to impose any form of levy on the children.

We have provided conducive learning environment in schools for the Akwa Ibom children through massive rehabilitation and reconstruction of school blocks, provision of science laboratory equipment, construction of hostels and supply of desks. The provision of educational infrastructure in the state like in roads, is without bias and discrimination to federal-owned infrastructure.

For instance, University of Uyo, a federal university has benefitted immensely through provision of facilities and construction of internal roads on the campus. We have constructed an e-library in the state to serve as a reference centre for researchers in the state in particular and the country in general.

Indeed, scholarship in Akwa Ibom has never had it so good. This much was testified to by a group of Akwa Ibom indigenes in the United Kingdom under the aegis of Mboho Ndito Akwa Ibom in UK and Ireland. The diasporans at their annual celebration in London spoke glowingly about this leadership style and assured of their support for my administration.

What is your target for 2012 and beyond?

We are going to create wealth and employment through industry. That is why we used our first four years to build infrastructure; good roads, airport, compulsory and free education because without education, the people are not informed, but rather deformed.

My target now is to industrialise the state and make the people economically viable. We will make sure that the budget is fully implemented to the benefit of all the people who reside in the state.

How do you see Nigeria achieving its Vision 2020?

For Nigeria to achieve its Vision 2020, it will need transformational leadership. We must not slack in our economic vision of 2020 and therefore if we must catch up with the developed countries, then we have to work faster. We should capitalise on our growth and must key into the foundation of sustaining this growth.

Strong leadership becomes imperative for rapid economic growth. We need transformational leadership. It must be complemented with sound management; contracts must not be inflated, budget must be implemented and there must be prudence in management of resources. All these underscore the need for transformational leadership as we have in Akwa Ibom State.

I have no ambition of running for president, at least we have a South-South President, and so the issue of becoming president as being misconstrued by some people is ruled out. But if we must get to the top, then we need transformational leadership.

What are you doing with regards to power?

We embarked upon Independent Power Plant and have completed 191 megawatts Ibom Power Plant project and achieved a record-breaking 85 per cent electricity coverage via linking over 1,400 communities to the national grid. We want to upgrade it to 500 megawatts. This is one of the reasons why we will approach the capital market to raise funds.

My vision is to make Akwa Ibom an investor’s destination. Akwa Ibom used to be a pedestrian state but now it has become a destination.

You talked about industrialising the state, what other things are you doing that will woo investors?

The deep seaport to be cited at Ibaka near the state capital, Uyo, would create over 100,000 jobs for the country’s largely unemployed population. The 129 kilometers stretch of land at the Ibaka port area would be a self-sustaining industrial city.

My government in 2012 would award a contract for the dualisation of the road leading to the port, to correct the mistake in Apapa port area.

We will enter into partnership with the Federal Government, a multimodal transport system would be built to include rail lines linking Port-Harcourt, Aba and Calabar.

The area designated for the project has the longest coastline and just five kilometers away from the capital city. With a depth of between 15 and 18 meters water channel and 129 kilometers stretch of land, it has some of the best port features that could be found anywhere in the world.

“With Ibaka deep seaport, we will have a seaport that will not require perennial dredging. Investors will be in business for a very long time without bothering about dredging.

“The port will serve all countries in the Gulf of Guinea. The peaceful nature of the community and availability of undeveloped land will make the area a self-sustaining industrial city when the port is completed. In addition to the port, the areas will also habour independent power plants, refinery and industries.