Gov Udom Emmanuel
of Akwa Ibom has said that local government elections would have to wait in
view of the present financial difficulties facing the State.
Emmanuel said this
during interaction in Uyo on Sunday as part of activities marking the second
year in office and 18 years of unbroken democracy in the country.
He appealed to
people and politicians to be patient over the conduct of local government
elections as government was not in a hurry to carry out the exercise because of
prevailing economic realities.
According to him,
government’s stance on the matter is not deliberate as it would not take a loan
with high interest to conduct local government elections.
The governor,
however, said the government would embark on the conduct of the elections once
the economy improved.
Emmanuel has not
conducted local government election since coming to office on May 29, 2015,
leaving that tier of government to be handled by transition or caretaker
chairmen or committees.
“The prevailing
economic situation is not conducive for us to conduct local government
elections.
“We cannot borrow
money on high interest rates from the bank for elections.
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“What of if you
set up local government council and you don’t have money to run the council?
“In a recession,
you carefully direct where money should go’’, Emmanuel said.
Emmanuel said his
Cardinal programme of industrialisation was still on course, adding that such
has led to the inauguration of some industries and ground-breaking for new ones
to mark his second year in office.
He called on Akwa
Ibom people to appreciate government in establishing small and medium scale
industries to create wealth and reduce unemployment.
He said in many
economies, “it is the small and medium scale industries that drive the
economy.”
The governor
thanked the media for the support and cooperation given to his government since
assumption of office.
He charged the
media to always report the truth to promote investment, development and tourism
in the state.
Earlier, the state
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Charles Udoh, charged journalists
to always report to promote the potentials of the state.
He disclosed that
the state government has instituted health insurance policy to cover 250
journalists in the state as support programme for them to perform their jobs
better.
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