Politics
Udoedehe Meets Akwa Ibom Business Community, Promises Support
By Etim Etim
The recent visits of the NNPP governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Senator John James Udoedehe, to the timber & building materials markets and the auto mechanic village to engage with the business owners and artisans underscore his commitment to the promotion of enterprise, wealth creation and jobs, if he’s elected governor.
It is notable that the Senator has promised to invest N10 billion as grants to the operators to revamp and retool the markets and expand their businesses. Udoedehe’s main preoccupation is to protect and expand existing businesses, create new ones, generate employment and tackle poverty.
The state has a huge population rate of 51% and 57% poverty rate, according to NBS. It is very sad that our people are wallowing in so much poverty and deprivation in the midst of so much oil wealth.
There are no fewer than 15,000 Akwa Ibom people working and earning a living at the mechanic village and the timber & building materials markets. A N10 billion investment in those markets could further stimulate creation of additional 5,000 jobs.
The focus on business owners derives from Udoedehe’s deep understanding that job creation is the forte of the private sector and the fight against poverty and unemployment is rooted in creating the right incentives for small businesses to thrive.
That’s also the reason he is promising to pump N31 billion into the state’s economy as grants to 31,000 people to expand or start their rural-based businesses. This should create at least 31,000 new jobs as each beneficiary will take on at least one new apprentice or worker.
For those who have been wondering how the Senator would fund his programs, the recent revelations that Akwa Ibom has earned N250 billion in derivation refunds and yet there’s nothing to show for it should be an adequate answer.
A judicious deployment of such resources in social welfare programs like the ones enunciated by Senator Udoedehe would benefit Akwa Ibom people and businesses a lot more than building hotels and monuments.
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