Akwa Ibom still rejects NBS unemployment report on the state

 Joe Effiong, Uyo,

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The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy,  Mr Iniobong Ememobong, who countered the outcome of the survey, pointed at the industrialization policy of the administration that has given rise to the establishment of no fewer than 18 firms including the coconut refinery, metering solution, plywood, flour mill, fertilizer plant and various allied businesses.

According to the Commissioner, the number of employees in the firms and others absorbed into the state civil service, coupled with government supports for the Small Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) could not have placed the state so ridiculously low on the unemployment ladder.

He, therefore, queried the methods deployed in arriving at such outrageous statistics, adding that the administration had been in the business of job creation, social empowerment and funding small business through interests-free loan in agriculture.

But it was observed that  the existing factories cannot employ many persons and many of those employed many those employed are not from the state.

Equally, Gabriel Umoh, a Professor of Agricultural and Development Economics at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), noted that “the private sector has become so disconnected from government to the point where on hotels owned by politicians in government thrive.”

“Akwa Ibom has no strong private sector to compliment government’s policies and programmes so government to bolster the private sector for more private sector jobs.”

In the same vein, Chief Ekpenyong Bassey, a community leader and social affairs analysts, blamed government for not putting effective mechanism in place to check corruption, pointing that “most of these monies stolen from the system are not properly utilized by politicians to create private jobs for the people.

“In highbrow areas of Uyo, especially Ewet Housing, Osongama and Shelter Afrique, you cannot count a number of palatial and imposing buildings built by politicians.

“Most of these homes are fallow with only security guards keeping vigil, while their owners live in other mansions elsewhere in Abuja, Lagos and abroad.

“If these monies used in erecting such marvelous structures are invested in businesses especially housing, cottage industries, oil and gas and export and import businesses, the government would only have the burden of creating the right environment for businesses to thrive”, he noted.

Also, successive administrations since the return of democracy in 1999, according to Comrade Saviour Akpan, Executive Director-in charge of COMPART foundation for equity, peace and justice, Non Governmental Organization (NGO), have not been able to build on the template laid by their predecessors.

“If you check out abandoned projects of the Obong Victor Attah and Godswill Akpabio, you would discover that if such projects like the Ibom Science Park, the Ibom Tropicana and other mega projects were to be completed, a lot of unemployed youths would have been taken off the streets”, he noted.

The Ibom Tropicana, conceived  by former governor Godswill Akpabio in 2008,  to generate over 5,000 jobs, became not only a pipe dream but a white elephant  because the current administration could not continue “because of huge cash committed into it by Akpabio”.

It was gathered the project had initial cost of N33billion but was later revalued to the tune of N120billion, forcing the administration of Emmanuel, to halt funding to complete the facility.

However, a senior media aide to governor Emmanuel, Mr. Aniefiok Macaulay, has given hint of the administrations intervention in the project.

Speaking in an interview, Macaulay said “the administration has entered into  Public Private Partnership (PPP) to revamp the shopping malls section of the facility”, pointing out that the intervention would generate more private sector jobs as people scramble for shops for various businesses in the complex.

Besides, it was learnt that the Science Park conceived by Obong Attah (1999-2007), and contracted to a South African firm, SBT JUUL, to the tune of over $5billion Dollars, had been re-awarded to a Chinese firm and renamed Ibom Blue Sea Science Park.

But the rising hopes that the project, when completed would generate several Information and Communication Technology (ICT) – related jobs, has again been stalled as the Chinese contractors could not return to site because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.END