31st October, 2015
Akwa Ibom Government says it is planning to establish 10 modern cassava processing plants in the state.
Gov. Udom Emmanuel announced this when leaders of some socio-cultural organisations in the state paid him solidarity visit in Uyo on Friday.
Emmanuel said his administration intended to revolutionise agriculture so as to engage 10,000 youths in the sector.
He noted that the state was blessed with arable land for all-seasons cultivation, emphasising that he was committed to exploiting the agricultural potentials of the state.
Emmanuel said some youths in the state had been sent to Israel for training on mechanized farming.
“If we don’t plant today, there may not be harvest tomorrow to sustain the people as overdependence on oil does not do the economy any good,” the governor said.
The President, Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio, Mr Monday Etukakpan, said they came for a solidarity visit following the recent Election Tribunal verdict nullifying some results of the governorship election that produced him as governor.
Etukakpan advised the governor not to succumb to blackmail by the opposition party but to sustain the development strides for the benefit of the people.
He encouraged Emmanuel to hope for victory in the Appeal Court, adding that “you are destined to rule.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls the Akwa Ibom Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja had cancelled the governorship election in 18 local government areas out of 31 and ordered a re-run.