ARISE Agenda: Gov. Eno exceeds expectations in two years

By: Solomon Essiet

A thorough review of the Arise Agenda, the blueprint of Governor Umo Eno’s administration, in the last two years, since he assumed office, revealed that the Governor has exceeded the expectations of the citizenry in the delivery of democratic dividends across the length and breadth of the State.

This was particularly brought to the realisation of many during the public presentation of the Socio-Economic Impact of the Arise Agenda in Two Years of the golden era administration of Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, the performing Governor of Akwa Ibom State, on Thursday, August 07, 2025, at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Uyo.

This is certainly not the first time that Governor Eno would subject the ARISE Agenda, a comprehensive blueprint of his administration, to public scrutiny. Two months into his administration, precisely between the 24th – 27th July, 2023, the Governor brought professionals from all works of life, gathered them together at Ibom Icon Hotels and Resort, in what he captioned “Ibom Dialogue’, and inundated them with the herculean task of scrutinizing the blueprint of his administration for a successful take off.

So, when people talk about transparency in governance, some credit should be given to Governor Umo Eno in the aspect of transparency. Given the just-concluded event, it has been publicly observed that Governor Umo Eno has shown work on all 18 thematic areas of the Arise Agenda, conquering all with a master touch.

Through extraordinary fiscal discipline, Governor Eno has in the last two years embarked on the execution of very audacious projects in the State without borrowing a dime from any bank, internal or external. Yet, projects germinate like mushrooms across the 31 Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State, positioning Akwa Ibom State in the Infrastructural map of the world. One of such audacious projects is the reclamation of a gully erosion menace area at Dominic Utuk Avenue, Uyo, known for criminal hideout, notoriety, and danger zone, transforming it into a world-class relaxation facility, capable of competing with any such center in the world.

The Arise Resort is a project of its kind in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, and even West Africa, completed with State-of-the-art facilities such as a golf course, a Chinese restaurant, Charlets, an Artificial lake, a Tennis Court, a Children’s playing group,
Basketball court ground, Shopping Mall, Banquet Hall, and what have you. A trip to the spot will thrill you for sure. Like the Director of AKICORP, Pastor ImoAbasi Jacob, would love to put it, it’s a place you travel to with so much money in your pocket and probably leave with no money, because there is something for everyone. In the next step review of the project, we understood that the project will be ready for commissioning before we match into the 2026 calendar year.

Aside from the Arise Resort, over 50 other live’s live-changing projects are currently ongoing and at different stages of completion in Akwa Ibom State, providing an alternative source of income to Akwa Ibom People, thereby putting food on their table. Projects such as the Construction of Ibom International Convention Center, Aviation Village, Command and Control, Arise Elder Citizens Centre, Itam Industrial Park, Ewet Housing Luxury Gardens Estate, International Market, Ikot Ekpene, Ibom Model Farm, Construction of Ibom Hotel, AKBC house, AKICORP building, ARISE shopping city, Construction of Jetty, ARISE Sport Academy, one project per Local Government (Phase 1&2), these and many more projects are the audacious projects currently ongoing in Akwa Ibom State with funding judiciously earmarked for completion of the aforementioned projects.

Comparatively, it was wrong for the National Bureau of Statistics to use old and outdated data, sourced many years ago, to rate Akwa Ibom State, given her current economic realities, and the unprecedented progress recorded in all the thematic areas of the Arise Agenda in the last two years. It was normal for Governor to seek for engagement and collaborations with the officers from the National Bureau of Statistics, in a view to updating their data, given the rate of radical development that had taken place in Akwa Ibom State in the last two years, occasioned by the outstanding performance of the award winning Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno.

During the public presentation of the Socio-Economic Impact of the Arise Agenda, there was a call for the Akwa Ibom State Government to move from empowerment to entrepreneurship. Though we are open to criticism, it is also pertinent to keep the record straight. Akwa Ibom State is one of the few states that paid premium attention to Entrepreneurial Development. In this regard, Thousands of youth have received direct and indirect support from the golden era administration, towards the entrenchment of unprecedented Entrepreneurial Development in the State. At DAKKADA Skill Acquisition Centre, DASAC, the State Government has sponsored the first set of 151 trainees, encouraging them with the necessary skill set. The second set of trainees is currently undergoing training in various trades in a spirited effort to boost the entrepreneurial capacity of the State. But, as it is often said, we believe there is room for improvement from our achievements so far.

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State is intentional about changing the narratives on youth overdependence in civil service appointment, by creating avenues for the youth to key into it, allowing them to become self-employed, thereby ruling their world.

All over the world, no one has ever heard of a very rich civil servant becoming the richest man in the world. No, we find such categories of men in the business arena. In Nigeria, Aliko Dangote, Otedola, and Mike Adenuga come to mind. They are all businessmen of repute, not a glorified civil servant, who most often retired as permanent secretaries in their respective ministries, without any serious impact in the business world.

Congratulations to Governor Umo Eno for his most recent award as the Governor of the Year from the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). It is simply amazing and a surprise award at the same time. For Governors to come together and nominate a particular Governor as the ‘Governor of the year’, we certainly cannot take that for granted.

This is a call for the Governor to, while celebrating this August victory, also double his effort to do more for his people, the electorate. It is often said that “To whom much is given, much is expected”, and Governor Eno, that I know, is equal to the task in delivering democratic dividends to his people across party lines.

Indeed, there is no better time to be an Akwa Ibomite. During the public presentation event, I was fortunate to see Reuben Abati in Akwa Ibom State for the very first time, amongst other very Distinguished personalities. Reuben Abati has been one of my role models in the media profession.

Thank you very much, Governor Umo Eno, for bringing us into the national news once again, for very good reasons. We will continue to work hard in support of your aspirations as a united Akwa Ibom.

Arise, that same God.

Pastor Essiet, ACIA
Special Assistant on New Media to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State.