“We Have Not In The Last Two Years Borrowed Money” –  Gov Eno

By Ayodele Oni

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has declared that since the first two years, his administration has been running the State without borrowing.

According to him, the numerous projects executed by his administration were delivered without loan from any financial institution.

The Governor spoke at the occasion of his investiture as Patron of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), in Uyo.

He stated that “As we stand today, we have not in the last two years borrowed a dime from anybody. We have been building a serving pool from the funds that came to us to be able to seamlessly finance our projects and development.”

The Governor attributed the availability of funds to the strategic and visionary decisions taken by President Bola  Tinubu which have yielded increased revenue and more funds for developmental projects.

“This wouldn’t have been possible if our President didn’t take some serious decisions to maximize the revenue of the country and that of the States.”

Eno expressed his determination to make the State a tourist destination of choice in the country, mentioning the ongoing reconstruction of the abandoned 5,000 seater capacity International Conference Centre, the 200 room world-class hotel as indicators.

“We are developing our infrastructure to be able to support tourism, and I think that the next time you come by the grace of God, our International Conference Centre, with a capacity for holding five thousand people with several break out rooms and two hundred bed hotel, as well as a shopping city should be ready. It is an 18-month project and we are very deliberate about it.

“We believe that our programmes towards diversification of our economy are tilting towards tourism, and we are developing tourism assets across the State that will make any visitor want to spend time here.”

Accepting the honour, Governor Eno promised to abide by the code of conduct that governs the Institute as well as support the ideals of the organisation.