By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, yesterday solicited the support of President Bola Tinubu for the resuscitation of the 28-year-old moribund oil palm project in the state.
The governor said with the support of the federal government, revamping the oil palm industry would have a full value chain to the economy as the country would begin to export palm oil.
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the governor said that he also solicited the support of the government for the Ibom Deep Seaport.
He explained that the Seaport has the deepest wharf that will bring in the ship and would take care of the business interest of South-East, South-South, and the entire Niger Delta region.
Eno said Ibom Air was making profit which was being ploughed back for the expansion of facilities at the taxiway and the terminal at the state-owned airport.
Asked specifically about the purpose of his visit to the President, he said, “The purpose of my visit to the president is to wish him a happy new year and also make a request. You know when governors come to see the President, this is the seat of government, and you have one or two things to talk about.
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“So, wishing the President a Happy New Year was paramount for us and we pray that God will keep him in good health and continue to give him the strength to carry on his work as the president Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Then following that, we also have a request. We’ve talked and requested him to support us with our Ibom deep seaport, and agricultural programme on the oil palm. Akwa Ibom is an oil palm zone. We have started the process of revamping the moribund industry that has been there for 28 years.
“It is being revamped right now. We need the support of the federal government to be able to have a full value chain and then bring people to work and be able to help Nigeria. We can even get to exporting palm oil because right now, we’re still importing a lot of it. So that’s why I came and it was a good visit.”
On the response of the President to his requests, he said, “The President has graciously granted that I bring the memo to the requests and including MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul).
“Of course, the President is a businessman, he had to also ask, are we making profits running Ibom Air? Because the government has no business in business. I told him the government is completely out of the running of Ibom Air.
“Ibom Air is making profit and they are ploughing it back for expansion and the airport facility the second taxiway is on, we have the new terminal, we have the MRO and he was pleased to hear that.
“We need to partner with the federal government, of course, to get work going in the state. Akwa Ibom is part of Nigeria.
“He is the president of Nigeria, he needs to know how one of his component states is doing. I just came for a normal briefing though.”
Further asked on the significance of Ibom Deep Seaport to Nigeria’s economy because there are other existing ports, the governor said Ibom deep sea port has the deepest wharf that will bring in ships.
He said, “Again, Lagos is there. But you also know Lagos is congested. Of course, that is no story. So you need a deep seaport that will take care of the South-East, South-South if you like, the Niger Delta region.”
