‘Am joining the race to bring about a holistic development’_ A’ Ibom gubernatorial aspirant
A governorship aspirant in Akwa Ibom state Mr. Aniekan Etim has blamed the lack of development and progress in the state on poor leadership, stressing that such noticeable gap has spurred him to join the governorship race in order to right the abnormally.
He made this comment while speaking to a group of Journalists in Uyo, yesterday.
He noted as well that questionable and misplaced priorities and lack of visionary leadership have made it difficult for the state to realise its capacities despite the human and material potentials that abound in the state.
Etim, who is aspiring on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said he was joining the race with eight points agenda to enable him holistically develop the state if given the mandate to fly the PDP flag in the state in 2023.
He listed the eight-point development blueprint to include Life and healthcare, Vocational Training and Education, Services and Infrastructure, Agriculture, and Food Sufficiency.
Others according to him include the Shelter and Housing Scheme, Safety/Security, Transportation as well as Information and Orientation of the citizens.
He explained that though infrastructure has been a recurring decimal in all policies of past administrations in the state, the time has come to take it to another level in other to have total fulfillment among the people.
“Infrastructure is very critical. It should, however, be viewed from a comprehensive point of view; including but not limited to social, environmental, physical, roads, rural-urban connect and industrial development.”
He observed that mass mobilization and participation were the hallmarks of all-inclusive and commendable governance promising to incorporate them in state affairs.
“Mass mobilization are hallmarks for commendable governance. Government should be about the people. The way to ensure that it is about the people is to involve the people. And the key to involving the people is to invest resources in the people” he said
The aspirant stressed that the time for the right fulfillment has come, adding that, he was joining the race to lead “beyond the paltry, intractable, unfulfilled state of affairs in the state”
According to him “Akwa Ibom is our state. It’s a geo-political entity South-East corner of Nigeria. Without a doubt, it has scored many firsts in Nigeria and globally, and is naturally blessed with human and natural resources whose potentials are unquantifiable but beg for proper harnessing.
“Nigeria, Africa, and indeed the world need Akwa Ibom and depend on us to the stable, to grow and sustain the development. The sad story is that presently in spite of our potentials, we are yet to realize our enviable capacities owing to questionable and misplaced leadership”.
He lamented that education and other energies have been misplaced due to a lack of foresight and commitment to serving the people, noting that, such has taken a negative toll on the people and their development, a trend he promised to change if given the opportunity in 2023 as a governor.
