Deputy Governors of international coastal border communities in Nigeria have ended their Inaugural Summit with a tour of some key infrastructure in Akwa Ibom State.
They were led on the City Tour by their host Deputy Governor, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, PhD.
The tour took the delegation through the ongoing Ewet Luxury Garden, the ARISE Resort, the Model Primary School and the Model Primary Health Centre.
At the ARISE Resort, the Project Contractor, Chief Faysal Harb, explained that Governor Eno converted a deadly gully ravished community into a world class hospitality, leisure and business arena.
He led the team to the 9-hole Golf Course, the 20 Guests Apartments, the swimming pool, and sports complex, among other facilities at the arena.
Addressing journalists after the tour, the head of the delegation and Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said Governor Umo Eno has provided “clear evidence that he is not a ruler because rulers give excuses, but leaders find ways.
“He’s a man of hospitality and so trying to use tourism to jump start the economy of Akwa Ibom state, already you have a good tailwind supporting the existence of the Ibom Air which is a veritable avenue of conveying people in and out of the State.
“We just visited the Arise park which is quite an innovation, which is quite the icing on the cake as far as l’m concerned for tourism.
“We promise we will tell our governors something is happening here.
“We’ve also visited the Model primary school which is another signature project.”
Senator Ewhrudjakpo lauded the ICT facilities residential apartments for teachers in the school, and the standard facilities in the primary health center in Uyo, expressing delight that they were being replicated across the State.
Relishing on the rich cuisines of the host State, the Bayelsa deputy governor said , “we are quite impressed and all of us are leaving here very refreshed, some of us came here with wrinkled faces, but all of us are going away with a very smooth face, you know when the soup is sweet, the Eba hand is always big, we are not unmindful, but we must go home”, he said jokingly.
On the summit, he maintained that, “Unfortunately, two of the states one was represented by the permanent secretary and the other one (Rivers State)for obvious reasons.
“But we had a very elaborate deliberation”, he added.
Held at the Ceedapeg Hotel, with the theme “Enhancing the Potential of International Coastal Border Communities for National and Regional Development: The Role of Stakeholders”, the Summit brought together all Deputy Governors from Nigeria’s coastal border States, to deliberate on the strategic role of coastal border communities in national security, economic growth, and regional cooperation.