Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno has assured that the memorandum of understanding signed earlier with the Rural Electrification Agency regarding the state’s rural electrification project will guarantee a 24-hour power supply in the state.
The governor signed the MOU during the Rural Electrification Roundtable organised by REA, which he attended in FCT Abuja shortly before jetting out to the UK.
The REA is a federal government body that has been at the forefront of providing off-grid solutions, especially solar-powered mini-grids, to underserved and unserved communities nationwide.
The push for a 24-hour power supply in Akwa Ibom State comes amid growing calls for improved electricity access in Nigeria, where millions of households and businesses remain without reliable power despite the country’s vast energy resources.
Fielding questions from Government House correspondents at the Victor Attah International Airport upon his return from the UK on Wednesday, Eno said the Power Summit scheduled for September 18 and 19, in collaboration with REA, would bring power to the unserved and underserved communities that are not linked to the national grid.
He said, “It buttresses the fact that we must give Akwa Ibomites a 24/7 reliable power supply. As you are aware, we have our Electricity Power Summit on the 18th and 19th of this month; this is a prelude.
“We are working with the Rural Electrification Agency, which has funding to bring power to the underserved and unserved communities in Akwa Ibom State that can not be linked to the national grid.”
Eno, who explained that during his visit to the UK, he met with British-based Moses Itauma, the boxing Champion, and the Mayor of Islington, Utiofon Jackson, expressed the good wishes of the Akwa Ibom people on their spectacular exploits.
He described them as role models whose successes are worthy of emulation by other Akwa Ibom youths.
Eno encouraged Akwa Ibom youths to imbibe the true Akwa Ibom spirit and to desist from harbouring a sense of entitlement, but to uphold the virtue of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and commitment in their pursuit of excellence.
He said, “We have said it and it has become our practice that wherever we find an Akwa Ibomite who has excelled in his or her chosen field, we would celebrate and support them.
“Part of my visit to the UK was to meet with Moses Itauma, the boxing Champion, and to also meet with the Mayor of Islington, Utiofon Jackson, who is also our son from Ika Local Government Area.
“These two have done well; they have excelled. This is the second time we are having a Mayor of Akwa Ibom extraction, the first being Mayor Ukeme Awakessien-Jeter of Upper Arlington, Ohio, in the USA, and this one is in the UK.
“You know, there is no godfather in these things; you have to be the best. So we needed to take the good wishes of Akwa Ibomites to them and encourage them.”
For Akwa Ibom, a state with a growing industrial base, improved electricity supply is seen as critical to spurring economic growth, reducing reliance on diesel generators, and enhancing the ease of doing business.
Beyond infrastructure, Eno has also consistently tied development to youth empowerment, celebrating Akwa Ibom indigenes excelling abroad, as proof that the state can produce world-class achievers when given the right support systems.
Against this backdrop, the administration’s promise of round-the-clock electricity resonates strongly with the state’s aspirations for industrialisation, job creation, and global competitiveness
