Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has reaffirmed his commitment to boosting local entrepreneurship by endorsing local contractors with established records of excellence, aligning with his pre-election pledges to the community.
During the inauguration of a 1.1km road project that connects to Gorreti Secondary School in Ikot Ekpene, Governor Eno declared the state government’s resolute commitment to uplift indigenous contractors who have consistently delivered top-notch services within the state.
Governor Eno urged young people across the state to hone their skills and exhibit their proficiency, assuring them of governmental support in their pursuit of greatness.
Illustrating his point with the success story of Engr. Ukeme Peters, the CEO of U&K Limited, the governor highlighted how Engr. Peters had excelled in the construction sector, having been nurtured by another local contractor, Engr. Uwem Okoko of Hensek Integrated Services.
Eno called on emerging local contractors to officially register with the state Ministry of Works. He assured that those who have a proven history of delivering quality results would be given opportunities, reinforcing his campaign commitment to empower more local vendors to manage projects and curb the outflow of capital from the state.
The governor emphasized that experienced professionals in project execution would be involved in community-based initiatives undertaken by his administration. He acknowledged that not everyone could be accommodated in governmental roles, hence his focus on utilizing skilled local talent for development projects.
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The Governor applauded the exceptional professionalism demonstrated by Engr. Ukeme Peters, stating that if the spring road construction project is completed within the scheduled five months, he would receive another contract. However, he cautioned the company to strictly adhere to project specifications. To ensure the delivery of high-quality outcomes for the populace, he disclosed the establishment of a Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, directly reporting project evaluations to him.
“What we are trying to do is to show the capacity of our youths. I would like to thank his mentor, Engr. Uwem Okoko. I told him during the campaigns that I want to produce more HENSEKs in Akwa Ibom State. He is the father of them all as far as Akwa Ibom is concerned but we need to produce younger people and he promised me that he was going to assist in mentoring them.
“Engr. Ukeme is one of his mentees. We have tested him on small things and he has shown his capacity to perform.
“I want the youths of Akwa Ibom to know that if we find them capable of doing anything positive that could contribute to our development we will use them to do those things. I think that is the message we are trying to send. It is not enough for youths to indulge in begging. It is necessary for our youths to have handwork so that we can recommend and engage them positively when we need their services.” Eno added.
