The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel has said despite the two recessions and the economic meltdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic that his administration faced, he would be leaving the state better than he met it.
Emmanuel who made the claims in Uyo, the State capital in his Easter broadcast said the challenging economic situation never deterred him from delivering on his campaign promises to his people.
He stressed that the Easter broadcast was not his valedictory speech saying he was convinced that he has 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 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.”