ACTING President Yemi Osinbajo has called on Akwa Ibom State to work towards attracting private investors to the state, saying that private investments are the greatest drivers of progress anywhere in the world.
Osinbajo gave the charge, yesterday, in Uyo, during a stakeholders town hall meeting in continuation of the Federal Government’s fact-finding visits aimed at bringing a solution the Niger Delta crisis.
The acting President who assured that the Federal Government would look into the various issues raised by the stakeholders, ranging from the youth amnesty programme, upgrading of the Maritime Academy, Oron to a university, the commencement of the Ibaka Deep Sea Port, the MRO Hanger, among others, said that the state should not rely solely on the Federal Government to improve its economy.
He said: “The biggest benefit you can attain as a state is to attract private investors. We must provide the enabling environment to attract private investment because it is not every time you call on the Federal Government.”
He also advised the state to embark on programmes that would encourage participation of young people in innovative technology. Speaking earlier, Governor Udom Emmanuel accused the Federal Government of paying lip service to the youth amnesty programme in the Niger Delta region, noting that so many Akwa Ibom youths were not integrated into the programme.
He also said that Akwa Ibom State does not have a single signature project of the Federal Government despite its huge contributions to nation building.