AKWA IBOM FIVE-YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN: Ekpo, Nkan, Archibong Hail Gov Eno, Highlight Benefits As Council Chairmen Buy In
By Victor Ukpong and Henry Nkom
Governor Umo Bassey Eno has been commended for initiating a Five-Year Development Plan for Akwa Ibom State covering the period 2027 to 2031.
The commendations came from stakeholders at a roundtable meeting of Chairmen of the 31 Local Government Areas organised by the consultants, Foundation for Economic Research and Training (FERT), in Uyo on Thursday, October 29, 2026.
Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mkpisong Frank Archibong, hailed the Governor for his commitment to the long-term development of the state and his vision for a structured development plan.
Archibong noted that the ARISE Agenda 1.0 has led to incredible growth in the state, adding that the development plan, which will have the seal of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, is going to fast-track growth and development.
He said the inclusion of the local government areas in the plan is another proof that the Governor is committed to equitable distribution of the state’s resources.
He stressed that the involvement of local governments in crafting and actualising the plan is to ensure consistent and balanced development across the state.
Archibong pledged the commitment of his Ministry to the success of the plan.
“We are ready to see that this plan is a success and we will give our total support whenever and wherever the consultants require our inputs,” he stated.
He expressed confidence in the capacity of the Lead Consultant, Emeritus Professor Akpan Hogan Ekpo, and his team to produce a development plan that will lead to continuous growth of the state.
The Commissioner commended the local government chairmen for turning up for the meeting and wished them successful deliberations.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Nsikan Linus Nkan, commended all the local government chairmen for attending the meeting and expressed optimism that the project will be successful.
“Listening to the presentation on the framework of the development plan, it gives me great confidence that this project which is very close to the heart of His Excellency, our Governor, is going to be a huge success,” Nkan stated.
Expressing confidence in FERT’s ability to deliver, the Commissioner said: “I really want to thank God for giving us Professor Akpan Ekpo, our own, to help us start this journey of a five-year development plan for our state. The zeal with which Prof is executing this project is highly commendable. Prof is not doing this because he is hired or paid but he is doing this with a high sense of patriotism. Prof considers that this is what he has to do in order to contribute to the development of our state and I thank him a great deal.”
Explaining the importance of a development plan, Dr. Nkan stated: “The development plan encourages long-term budgeting. This gives a comprehensive evaluation of the potentials of our state and prioritization of what we can do based on available funds. So, planning beyond one year cannot be overemphasized.”
Dr. Nkan noted that the development plan helps government decide which project to execute based on available funds.
The Commissioner revealed that it was impossible to plan for the state without carrying the local governments along, because local governments remain critical components of the state’s development.
“The state cannot develop in isolation of the local governments. The development of Akwa Ibom State can only be achieved based on what the chairmen are doing in their various local governments. The aggregation of developments in the local governments will account for the development of the state,” he said.
He allayed fears that local government chairmen may have concerning abandonment of the development plan by their successors.
“Let me allay this fear. We may think that doing a three-year development plan may not work because some of you think that you have one year plus in your tenure. But I tell you that if you work with Prof. now and get a development plan for your local government that is going to be approved both by your legislative arm and at the state level, I am almost one hundred percent sure that subsequent administrations will continue from where you stopped because the development plan is a clear road map for development of the local government and by extension the state,” he emphasized.
In his welcome address, the Lead Consultant of FERT, Emeritus Professor Akpan Hogan Ekpo, commended the Governor for commissioning the preparation of a five-year development plan.
Professor Ekpo revealed that FERT was established in 1995 and has done a lot of economic research and training at the state, national and continental levels.
He revealed that the executive arm of government had already made its inputs into the Akwa Ibom State Development Plan, adding that since local governments are the third tier of government, it is important to also incorporate their inputs to achieve an inclusive, comprehensive plan.
“The highlights already presented here is the state development plan. In most economies, the sub-national level and in your case the local government can have its own plan and that way, the local government will be tapping from both sides. A state government is developing the state across, then in your local government, you can develop it across the wards. That’s the whole idea. However, our task now is to produce the State Development Plan,” he said.
The former Director General and Head of Mission of the West African Institute of Finance and Economic Management (WAIFEM) and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo maintained that with the development plan, people in rural areas will know what to expect from government at any point in time.
He informed the chairmen that to carry the people along, they will be required to nominate persons from the wards who will be trained by FERT and guided to fill the questionnaire to be used in generating data for the state development plan.
Presenting the highlights of the Akwa Ibom State Development Plan, a member of the FERT team, Professor Emmanuel Onwioduokit, said there are two key reasons for a development plan.
The first, he said, is because resources are always limited and can only be well utilized when needed projects are prioritized.
“In prioritizing, you need to know which project should come before the other in order for the people to get maximal benefits. Number two; there is what we call public goods. Public goods are goods the private sector cannot provide because they have no way of recouping. In Economics, we say there are two key principles that make a good qualify as a public good; that is to say, the good is non-rival in consumption and you cannot exclude anyone from benefitting from it even if he did not pay tax, for example. Among other issues, these are the key fiscal issues development plans all over the world seek to address,” he stated.
He explained that the five-year plan will be designed in such a way that each community will benefit.
“For instance, in each local government the plan will say in year ‘T’, this is what will be done and in another year this is what will be done. So, when they see the plan and what they said will be done in year ‘T’ is being carried out, the other people will be patient to wait for theirs. A development plan will make people to focus and be in harmony,” he explained.
He revealed that the five-year development plan has five parts which include: Development Context and Strategic Direction, Review of the Development of the State from 2023 to 2026, Fiscal and Socio-Economic Diagnostics, and the Vision, Mission and Strategic Pillars.
According to him, the development plan focuses on how to grow key sectors including Agriculture, Industrialization and Rural Prosperity, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development, Tourism, Digital Economy and Innovation, Education and Skilled Workforce, Health, Housing and Development of Public Infrastructure, among others.
During the interactive session, local government council chairmen endorsed the five-year development plan and promised to ensure that the plan is properly executed.
Making inputs at the meeting, the Chairman of Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, Rt. Hon. Asuakak Umoh, hailed the Governor for initiating the development plan, adding that it will make development at the grassroots sustainable.
He however opined that it would be good to extend the period of planning to a minimum of ten years, so that at least three successive local government administrations can make use of one development plan.
“I am optimistic that a development plan will put an end to project abandonment because succeeding administrations will be guided by the document and they will continue from the preceding one,” he noted.
Hon. Umoh also requested that future meetings should include local government legislators, so that they can follow through the process and give the development plan legal backing as soon as it is ready and help in its implementation.
Also contributing, the Chairman of Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, Hon. (Engr.) Emmanuel Inyang, commended the initiative and pledged the support of his council.
The meeting ended with a renewed commitment by all stakeholders to work with FERT to produce a development blueprint that will guide Akwa Ibom’s growth beyond 2027.
