Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensuring meaningful profitability and increased earnings from the state’s agricultural sector through the intentional separation of agribusiness investments from social welfare initiatives.
The governor made this known while fielding questions from Government House Correspondents after inspecting ongoing renovation works at the headquarters of the Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Development Programme (AKADEP) in Uyo.
Governor Eno disclosed that his administration has established an Agricultural Business Unit dedicated to serious agricultural investments capable of generating substantial revenue for the state.
“Agriculture is big business. And its social investment is quite different from its business investment. What our Ministry of Agriculture is doing is purely social investment, which has to do with its free or subsidized distribution of farm seedlings or inputs to farmers. But if it has to do with tree-crop planting, equipment leasing, or model farming, it is simply business investment,” he explained.
He emphasized that the state government will no longer channel resources into ventures solely because they fall under government purview, especially when such enterprises can be run more profitably by private entities.
“So, we have to separate agricultural business from agricultural social welfare in order to drive meaningful earnings for the state,” he said.
“We must bring in money through this laudable business approach so that the state’s internally generated revenue can grow, securing the state in case of a revenue shortfall from the oil money accruing from Abuja.”
Governor Eno stressed that for Akwa Ibom to attain economic viability and financial self-reliance, all state-owned business investments must be revitalized and sustained. He stated that government-owned assets must be transformed into income-yielding ventures and managed professionally for the collective good.
To further advance the vision, the governor announced the appointment of Pastor Godwin Ukwat as Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agric Business. Until his appointment, Pastor Ukwat served as the Executive Director, Agric Investment.
Accompanying the governor on the inspection were the Deputy Governor, Senator Akon Eyakenyi; Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah; Executive Assistant and Chief Delivery Advisor, Mr. Aniefiok Johnson; and members of the State Executive Council, among other dignitaries.
