AKAISO EYO-AKAISO, Uyo
The lineup of those who have thrown their weight behind Governor Umo Eno in support of his second term bid has continued to increase by the day, the latest being the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria, NPPAN.
NPPAN Akwa Ibom State chapter, a major player in oil palm produce decided to throw its weight behind Governor Eno’s second term bid because of his excellent performance in his first term.
The group believes, under three years, Eno has done well in almost all sectors of the State’s economy, spanning agricultural revolution, tourism and environmental management.
Others include rural development, woman and youth empowerment, infrastructural maintannance and advancement. The list also extended to security, education and health sector management, economic, industrial and social advancement, to mention but a few.
Speaking on behalf of the group shortly after the launch of 600,70 oil palm tree seedlings by Governor Eno, State chairman of NPPAN, Mrs Bernadette John Ekanem commended him for not only making agriculture the first letter of his ARISE agenda, but going further towards food security and economic diversification by empowering farmers with state of the art agricultural equipment and also financial grants.
“His agricultural revolution has put enough food on the table of every household in Akwa Ibom State, now the oil palm trees revolution will complement his agricultural revolution by putting cash in the hands of the people,” she said.
She drew out a long list of what the Governor has done in agriculture to ensure the sector regains its lost glory as the mainstay of the state economy.
Some of the projects include, Ibom Model Farm: 50 hectares Songhai model pilot in Nsit Ubium designed for replication across 31 local governments, approval of N2.5bn for the procurement and free distribution of over 620, 000 Tenera hybrid palm seedlings launched just about a few days ago at AKADEP headquarters, Uyo, with 500 per local government and 40 per household.
The chairman appealed to Governor Eno to involve NPPAN in the agricultural projects to avoid it being hijacked by political jobbers.
Ekanem who is a farm service provider for Partnership Initiative for Niger Delta Development, PIND, also urged her members to register with INEC for their voters cards, assuring the Governor that come 2027 general elections the group will give President Tinubu, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Governor Eno a bloc vote.
While thanking the Governor for his efforts through agricultural revolution to ensure food security in the state, she pleaded that Governor should provide fertilizer for the growth of other tree crops such as cocoa and others to enhance quick yield.
Earlier before launching the Palm tree seedlings revolution, Governor Eno had stated that the idea behind the launch was to eradicate hunger among the citizenry while providing them with opportunity to create wealth.
The highpoint of the launch was the ceremonial planting of the palm tree seedlings by the government functionaries, including Mrs Ekanem who planted on behalf of NPPAN and other groups.
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