FOR about two hours last Saturday, the �ordinary people� of Akwa Ibom State, randomly selected, had what one of them described as a lifetime opportunity to interact with President Olusegun Obasanjo. Their questions ranged from the privatisation of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria to issues affecting the well being of their state and by extension their lives. The forum, which was part of the three-day visit of Obasanjo to the state from Friday August 6 to Sunday August 8, also afforded the people of the state of having first hand information from their governor, Obong Victor Attah, on issues that had hitherto remained unclear to them.
Obasanjo set the tone for the interactive session with an opening remark. The President described the session as the most important part of his visit to the state, noting that it would afford him the opportunity of meeting with the common people whom he would ordinarily not have met with in the course of the visit.
Answering the first question on why he government had not privatised ALSCON, which would have boosted the economy of the state and offered employment to numerous citizens of the state, Obasanjo said that he was also very agitated about the issue but that the initial arrangement for the privatisation of the company was untidy. He said ALSCON was one of the projects that gave Nigeria a bad image because of the level of corruption involved in it, adding that the Federal Government had to work hard to clear the bad image before embarking on the privatisation process. The first thing that was done, Obasanjo explained, was to stop the practice of selling the products from the company to only one firm at a fixed rate. After this, he said the preferred bidder that emerged did not meet the deadline for the payment of the initial 10 per cent of the bid price, leading to the starting of the process all over again. In addition to this, the President said it was also discovered that the preferred bidder did not possess the requisite experience to run such a company. He, however, gave an assurance that the company would be privatised before the end of the month as negotiation had commenced with the initial managers of the multi-billion dollar company.
Reacting to a question by a market woman on what being done to save the country from running out of fish supplies owing to the operations of fish trawlers within the territory of the state, Obasanjo said that the problem had also become a source of worry to him. He said inasmuch as his government was fighting to prevent fish trawlers from coming into the country to carry out their operations, there was the need for a strong Navy to achieve this. He said there was the need to station the Nay permanently about 20 nautical miles into the sea so as to arrest violators of the law and get them punished. He said he was certain that by the time at least five of them were brought to book the act would stop.
The Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, was on hand to provide the needed data to assist the President when the issue of federal roads and bridges that were in various states of disrepair were raised. The contract for the Oron-Ikot Ekpene Road was terminated owing to the failure of the contractor to �perform.� The President said the government could not re-award the contract immediately so that the contractor does not go to court and get damages awarded against the Federal Government. On the state of the single lane Ibagwa bridge, Obasanjo said going by the paper Ogunlewe showed to him, �it was a forgone conclusion.� He said the engineering designs of the 60-metre bridge had been completed, tenders submitted by five reputable companies, and that after due process had been completed the contract would be awarded and work expected to commence immediately after the raining season.This drew ovation from the people.
During Obasanjo�s three-day state visit to Akwa Ibom State, there were quite a number of projects that the President had to inspect and commission. This started with the inspection of the Meridien/Ibom Five Star Hotel at Nwaniba, which is under construction. Already, about $2.2 billion had been sunk into the construction of the hotel, which also has an 18-hole golf course and a marina. The hotel, schedule for completion in February 2005 is still to gulp another $1.5 biilion.
Obasanjo, who was also accompanied on the trip by the Minister for Water Resources, Alhaji Muktar Shagari, commissioned the Idu water project after leaving Nwaniba. The Idu water project is expected to provide water to eight towns in the state. The President also inspected the Ibom Plaza; Nkemba Trough; the erosion site at Itak and the Industrial Estate where he saw the livestock market, the abattoir and the motor park.
On Saturday after the interactive session, Obasanjo inspected Ibagwa Bridge and a number of bad roads and road projects being undertaken by the state government. He also inspected the General Hospital at Okobo; the state�s proposed airport site; and Shelter Afrique Housing Estate, a housing project jointly executed by the state government and Shelter Afrique. Obasanjo commissioned a number of projects too. These included the Science Centre at Eket and the Urua Ita-Okopedi Road.
But the project that seemed to have impressed the President the most during his visit was the Ibom Rice Project at Ebidang. With 4,000 acres of land available for the cultivation of rice, the farm managers, Midland Rice of America, had already cultivated 525 acres. Obasanjo, who hardly spent more than 15 minutes at any project site and in fact only drove through and past some, was on the farm for over 30 minutes. On arrival at the farm, Obasanjo, who was received by the Managing Director of the project, Mr. Jerry Burgard, enquired to know if there was hope that the farm could produce at maximum capacity between now and next year. Burgard replied in the affirmative. Obasanjo gave him a thumbs up. Obasanjo said the Federal Government was prepared to render any assistance to ensure that the project, a joint venture between the Akwa Ibom State Government and Mobil/Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, was a success. He said that if successfully implemented, the project would aid the Federal Government in meeting its policy of the country being self sufficient in the production of rice for local consumption by 2006. Obasanjo, who was initially scheduled to leave after speaking with Burgard, agreed to undertake a tour of the farm based on a request by Burgard, who said that it takes just three months for the cultivation of rice. Harvesting was done in the process for those that were ready.
It was not only Attah that used the opportunity of the visit Obasanjo to showcase his government�s achievements. The Niger Delta Development Commission also did. The NDDC used Obasanjo�s visit to further prove its case that the intervention agency was meeting its mandate by executing crucial projects that impacted positively on the lives of the people of the Niger Delta Region. One of such projects was the Ikot Akpaden-Okoroette Road linking Mkpat Enin to Eastern Obolo. Chairman of NDDC, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, and the Minister of Inter Governmental Affairs, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr, were among those that witnessed the commissioning of the roads. The construction of the road was said to have been as a result of a passionate appeal by Attah.
Attah in his address later that night at a gala/dinner in honour of Obasanjo said that the rice project, funded to the tune of $5.5 million by Mobil/NNPC, was meant to fill the gap created by the ban on the importation of rice. He said it was also part of efforts to exploit the swamp resources of the state, adding that catfish production would come on stream too soon. He said the state government was working to compliement the efforts of the Federal Government in its economic reforms, noting that the launch of the Akwa Ibom State Economic, Empowerment and Development Strategy was in line with the Federal Government�s National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy. He said the state�s cassava competitiveness programme was structured towards meeting the presidential policy on cassava production. He said the state was working on the programme in conjuction with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture and the United States Agency for International Development. Attah said the NDDC had also shown interest in the programme.
Using the opportunity of the President�s visit to highlight some of the achievements of his administration, Attah said that 20 General Hospitals were fully functional in the state with the process of establishing an additional 12 already in place. Attah told Obasanjo that his government had, through the state and local government joint account, constructed 50 housing units in each of the 31 local government areas in the state. This, he said, was apart from the model housing estate constructed by the state government in conjunction with Shelter Afrique in Uyo.
Attah, however, urged Obasanjo to ensure that the privatisation of ALSCON was completed on time, pleading that once this was done, government should allow the state to integrate its 140-mega watts turbines with that of the company to make it a viable project. He also pleaded with the President to pursue the privatisation of the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company, Oku Iboku. He said if ALSCON and NNMC became functional, the youths of the state would benefit tremendously through job provision. He also called on the President to assist the state in combating marine and coastal erosion that was threatening the state. He appealed for the immortalisation of the first indigenous Governor of the Central Bank, late Dr. Clement Isong, and late General Philip Effiong.
Obasanjo, in his reponse, promised to assist the state succeed. He said he had noted all the requests and would work on them. Obasanjo departed the state on Sunday after a church service.
