The Akwa Ibom Development Scorecard: Four Governors, Major Investments & Unanswered Questions

By AKAN OWO

A development story that demands deeper examination

SINCE the return of democratic government in 1999, Akwa Ibom State has pursued an extensive programme of infrastructure expansion and economic transformation under four successive governors.

The administrations of Obong Victor Attah, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Deacon Udom Emmanuel and Pastor Umo Eno have been associated with major investments in roads, aviation, education, healthcare, electricity, tourism, manufacturing and rural development.

Their respective programmes have helped shape the physical and institutional landscape of the state. However, the development record also raises important questions about project completion, financial transparency, public service outcomes, maintenance and the sustainability of government-led investments.

A list of notable projects may provide a useful historical overview, but it cannot establish whether public expenditure produced the intended benefits. For that reason, an objective assessment must distinguish between completed facilities, operating institutions, ongoing construction, inherited contracts and initiatives that remained incomplete.

Attah’s legacy: Strategic vision & the challenge of implementation

Victor Attah’s administration, which governed between 1999 and 2007, pursued a development model centred on strategic infrastructure and improved fiscal capacity.

The airport project, the Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort, the Ikot Abasi independent power project and the State Secretariat Complex formed part of the administration’s major infrastructure priorities.

Attah also promoted educational and healthcare facilities, roads, rural electrification and the proposed Science and Technology Park. His government sought to establish infrastructure that could attract investment, support government operations and strengthen the state’s economic prospects.

Yet, the most significant development in the administration’s fiscal legacy may have been its advocacy against the onshore-offshore dichotomy in oil derivation revenue.

The removal of the previous geographical distinction in the application of the 13 per cent derivation principle strengthened the revenue position of oil-producing states. For Akwa Ibom, this provided a broader fiscal foundation for development spending.

Nevertheless, the availability of additional revenue does not automatically establish the effectiveness of its deployment. That requires examination of budget records, procurement processes, completed assets and the quality of public services delivered.

Attah’s own later criticism of project discontinuity also exposed a weakness in the state’s development culture. In 2017, he raised concerns about projects initiated during his administration that he said had been abandoned by subsequent governments, including the Science and Technology Park and Ibaka Deep Seaport.

The episode raises a fundamental question: how much public value can a government create when a successor abandons or delays an inherited project without adequately explaining the financial and technical reasons?

Akpabio’s infrastructure drive: Visibility versus long-term value

Godswill Akpabio governed from 2007 to 2015, a period widely associated with extensive road construction, urban renewal and large public infrastructure projects.

The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium became one of the most recognisable symbols of the administration. Road dualisation, flyovers, drainage works and improvements to public facilities also featured prominently in its development programme.

Meanwhile, the free and compulsory education policy represented an important social intervention. By reducing financial barriers to primary and secondary education, the administration sought to widen access to schooling.

Official state education statistics documented the policy’s implementation during the period. However, an independent assessment of its overall impact would require longitudinal evidence on enrolment, attendance, completion rates, teacher availability and learning outcomes.

The Tropicana Entertainment Centre presents a more complicated picture.

Launched as a major tourism and leisure destination, it was designed to accommodate a hotel, convention centre, shopping mall, cinema and theme park. Yet the full development did not materialise as originally envisaged during the administration that initiated it.

Later governments consequently faced the challenge of completing or repurposing the complex. Its subsequent inclusion in renewed tourism and hospitality plans demonstrates how a project can remain part of a state’s development agenda long after its original political sponsors leave office.

This history makes it necessary to distinguish the visibility of infrastructure from its economic returns. A stadium may provide sporting and social benefits, while a road may improve mobility. However, the public value of each asset also depends on maintenance costs, utilisation, accessibility and measurable economic or social outcomes.

Udom’s industrialisation agenda: Factories, jobs & sustainability

Udom Emmanuel’s administration, which governed between 2015 and 2023, sought to move Akwa Ibom beyond infrastructure-led development by promoting manufacturing, aviation and private-sector investment.

Ibom Air became its most prominent commercial initiative. Its launch in 2019 gave the state a direct presence in the aviation market and provided an operating business to complement the airport infrastructure developed over several administrations.

The government also advanced airport expansion, including runway improvements and the international terminal project. The subsequent development of maintenance facilities formed part of the wider aviation strategy.

In manufacturing, the administration promoted the Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing Company, flour processing, plywood production, fertiliser blending, electricity metering and other industrial ventures.

These projects were intended to support local production, create employment and diversify the economy. Nevertheless, the long-term performance of industrial investments depends on reliable power, access to finance, raw materials, skilled labour, effective management and competitive markets.

Government reports identified some facilities as operational and others as ongoing or under development. Therefore, the entire industrial portfolio should not be presented as a collection of fully functioning factories without examining their individual production records and subsequent performance.

The revival of Akwa Palm Estate also reflected an attempt to restore agricultural production and strengthen the state’s plantation economy. However, a complete assessment would require evidence of actual output, cultivated acreage, processing capacity, employment and financial performance.

The broader challenge remains whether industrial investments can operate independently of recurring government intervention and generate sufficient commercial returns to sustain themselves.

Eno’s ARISE Agenda: New priorities & inherited obligations

Umo Eno assumed office in 2023, inheriting a combination of completed infrastructure, ongoing construction, industrial assets and unfinished projects.

His administration introduced the ARISE Agenda, which prioritises agriculture, rural development, infrastructure, social investment, tourism and support for small businesses.

The government has pursued rural roads, road rehabilitation, farmer support and investments in tourism and hospitality. It has also continued work on the aviation infrastructure developed under previous administrations.

In its 2025 budget presentation, the government reported that its road programme included new projects as well as inherited schemes that it continued to finance. This is an important disclosure because it illustrates the overlap between successive administrations’ infrastructure commitments.

However, the inclusion of a project in a budget or development agenda does not establish its completion. A rigorous assessment must examine the contract award, commencement date, expenditure, physical progress, commissioning and operational status.

The same standard should apply to farmer empowerment, small-business support and tourism investments. Beneficiary numbers, disbursement records, business survival rates, agricultural output and tourism revenue would provide stronger evidence of impact than programme announcements alone.

The unresolved questions of public expenditure & project performance

The most important gap in a simple historical list is the absence of comparable information on project costs and outcomes.

For example, the airport’s development involved multiple administrations, several stages of construction and successive changes in its commercial ambitions. A complete financial history would need to establish the original project estimates, contract awards, subsequent variations, additional expenditure and the cost of maintaining its facilities.

Similarly, the Tropicana project requires a clear account of the expenditure incurred during its initial development, the status of its individual components and the financial implications of subsequent completion plans.

Industrial ventures require a different set of indicators. The number of factories established is less informative than their production capacity, actual output, workforce, operating costs, market share and contribution to government revenue.

Education and healthcare investments also demand measurable evidence. For schools, the relevant indicators include enrolment, attendance, teacher-pupil ratios, learning outcomes and infrastructure conditions. For hospitals, the assessment should consider staffing, equipment, patient numbers, service availability and maintenance.

Without such evidence, political claims about development achievements remain difficult to compare objectively across administrations.

Institutional continuity must become a development priority

Akwa Ibom’s experience demonstrates both the benefits and the difficulties of policy continuity.

The airport project shows how a strategic initiative can evolve through successive administrations, with each government adding infrastructure or commercial capacity. Conversely, the history of abandoned or delayed projects illustrates the financial and institutional costs of discontinuity.

To strengthen this record, the state needs comprehensive public project registers that identify each project’s original purpose, contract value, contractors, funding sources, implementation timelines, variations, completion status and maintenance arrangements.

Moreover, successive governments should publish clear handover records that distinguish functioning assets from unfinished obligations. Such transparency would make it harder for administrations to claim credit for projects they merely inherited or to disregard liabilities created by their predecessors.

The ultimate test is what residents gain

Twenty-seven years of uninterrupted democratic government have given Akwa Ibom opportunities to pursue long-term development programmes across several sectors.

The four administrations have contributed to an evolving infrastructure and economic agenda. Nevertheless, the final assessment should not rest on political slogans, commissioning ceremonies or the sheer number of projects announced.

What matters is whether roads improve access to communities and markets, whether schools produce better learning outcomes, whether hospitals provide reliable care, whether factories sustain employment and whether public investments expand the productive capacity of the state.

Ultimately, Akwa Ibom’s development history should be understood as a continuing public responsibility rather than a competition among former and current governors. The true measure of leadership is not simply what an administration starts or announces, but what it completes, maintains and leaves functioning for future generations.