State Commissioner for Information, Elder Aniekan Umanah (centre), Commissioner for Health, Dr Emmanuel Ekem (left) and the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ekerete Udoh during the briefing.
By Anietie Akpan
The four day retreat organized for members of the Akwa Ibom State Executive Council and some critical stakeholders has ended at the Eko Hotel, Lagos.
Themed “Delivering the ARISE Agenda,” the retreat provided a high-level platform for evaluating the government’s performance and setting clear delivery strategies for ongoing and future initiatives.
The State Commissioner for Information, Elder Aniekan Umanah who briefed the press Thursday evening, disclosed that during the retreat, far reaching decisions were also reached at an emergency exco meeting presided over by the Governor on Wednesday.
Umanah, flanked by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Emmanuel Ekem and the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ekerete Udoh, said the State Executive Council approved the engagement of Alpha Diaz Ltd as contractor for the Ibom City Bus Project, covering both construction and post-implementation management to enhance public transportation in the capital city and beyond.
“Council ratified the award of the contract for the complete remodeling of the Ibom International Hotel to Ratcon Construction Company Ltd, with a 12-month completion timeline.
“Council conducted a comprehensive review of the current status of all state-owned enterprises and investments and approved regularization of board structures across state entities and strategic divestment of government interests in select ventures in line with global best practices to ensure long-term viability and efficiency”.
Following a review of the progress of the One Project per Local Government Initiative (Phases One and Two), alongside the status of 47 other projects that have either been flagged off or are scheduled for commencement before May 29, 2025, Council directed the Direct Labour Committee to urgently schedule the commissioning of all completed projects for public use.
Over 20 key projects were also considered and scheduled for commissioning and flag-off activities to commemorate the second anniversary of the administration in May 2025.
Umanah further announced that the State Executive Council approved the establishment of the Akwa Ibom State Task Force on Primary Healthcare (PHC) to strengthen PHC services across the State’s 31 LGAs.
“The Task Force team headed by the Deputy Governor, comprises top government officials, local government leaders, traditional and religious leaders, medical professionals, and development partners including WHO, UNICEF, and NPHCDA”.
He listed the terms of Reference to include, Coordinating PHC and immunization efforts across the state, reviewing and implementing a 12-month PHC action plan, Monitoring campaign quality and performance by LGAs, advocating for resource allocation and accountability and reporting progress to the Governor via quarterly updates from the Ministry of Health.
The retreat, according to the Commissioner, also served as a strategic session to review progress made under the ARISE Agenda in nearly two years of governance, strengthen inter-agency coordination and performance accountability as well as, outline delivery frameworks and timelines for critical projects and policies.
All the participants witnessed 28 expert-led sessions on leadership, governance, communication, project delivery, economic expansion, and public service reforms, he added.
