Akwa State Governor Ibom Udom Emmanuel said that despite the two recessions and the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemics administration is facing, he will leave the state better than he expected ‘has’ encountered.
Emmanuel, who made a statement in Uyo, the state capital, during his Easter program, said the difficult economic situation has never stopped him from delivering on his campaign promises to its people.
He insisted that the Easter broadcast was not his farewell speech, saying he was confident he had not let the state down.
Udom said,
“it has been my great honour and privilege to serve you as your Governor.
“As I am getting ready to hand over the baton, I do so, with full conviction and deep faith that given the resources available, given the challenging economic tailwind that we faced, given the two recessions and a pandemic of historic proportions, God has been merciful, God has been kind and I am leaving this State better than I met her.”
The Governor also urged politicians in the state to sheathe their swords and join hands with the Governor-elect, Umo Eno to develop the state after the dreams of its founding fathers.
He said though they may have belonged to different political camps, politicians must learn to resist the impulse of allowing politics to create divisions of alienation among them.
He also said the political class should be reminded of the fact that though the founding fathers who established the Ibibio State College in Ikot Ekpene may not have agreed totally on their political leanings, they never allowed Akwa Ibom kindred spirit to be broken through political affiliations.
He added,
“We may have disagreements on political fronts, we may have pursued growth and development through different political prisms but we must resist the impulse of letting politics create unbridgeable schism and chasm of alienation amongst us as kindred.”
