By Uko Etim, Uyo
The Akwa Ibom State Government has expressed its readiness to partner with the Federal Government for enhanced power sector infrastructure and improved supply in the state and the country at large.
Governor Umo Eno made this known during an interaction with a delegation of the Senate Committee on Power and Members of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) who paid him a courtesy visit at Government House in Uyo.
He stressed that the state government was willing and ready to partner with the federal government to ensure the offtake of power generated from the Ibom Power Plant to benefit the citizenry and the nation.
Governor Eno noted that power is critical to the socio-economic development of a nation and advocated urgent measures to improve the power supply in the country.
According to him, “I believe we can do better with our power system, but a lot has to do with the Federal Government. If the Federal Government gives us the leeway to do it and with a promise to refund, then we can begin to think of it. But we’ll like to work together because we need to get those permissions to be able to link these things up, so that we won’t need to get into too much talk after the process. At the end of the day, it will be to the benefit of our people and then to Nigeria.
“Power is something that is dear to our heart; so the work that you are doing needs to be encouraged because without power, we cannot really do anything and the economy cannot move forward,” he explained.
He expressed gratitude over the return visit of the Senators barely few weeks after the just concluded Senate retreat in the State, adding that the preference of Akwa Ibom for conferences and retreats has put the state on its toes to improve on facilities to retain the confidence of such high profile visitors.
He said, “we are delighted at the increasing interest in our State for conferences, retreats and others. It behoves us to ensure that our facilities continue to be topnotch.”
Governor Eno described the synergy between the Senate Committee on Power and NERC as healthy for the power sector, indicating that both arms will be on the same page for enactments and regulatory policies.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the Chairman Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said that the was in the State for a three-day retreat, and expressed satisfaction with the choice of Uyo for the retreat, as against earlier plans for locations outside the country.
He noted that previous retreats of the body were held at Ghana, Morocco and other locations outside the country, noting that after the last Senate retreat in Akwa Ibom, they realized that Akwa Ibom has quality facilities sufficient for their engagement.
Senator Abaribe therefore commended Governor Eno for his purposeful leadership and attributed the pace of development in the State to continuum in leadership.
He assured of the National Assembly’s disposition to make enactments that will favour a robust partnership between the State and federal government for efficiency of the power sector.
