• Lauds Udom’s industrialisation agenda
Okon Bassey in Uyo
The federal government has for the past six years sunk over N8.9 trillion in the infrastructural development of the country, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osanbajo has said.
The Vice President disclosed this in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital while inaugurating a 21 storey building, the Dakkada Tower built by the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel.
He also said that housing projects were very critical in creating jobs aside from providing shelter when he flagged-off a 557 low density luxury estate in Akwa Ibom State which was part of the activities to mark the state’s 34th anniversary. The Vice President congratulated Governor Emmanuel for initiating the project.
He said despite the severe economic crisis the country experienced, the federal government had invested more than any administration on infrastructure.
“As of last year we have expended over N8.9 trillion on infrastructure. Just last month the Federal Executive Council approved the Lagos-Calabar rail station which will pass through Uyo.
“The council approved a full business scale for the Ibom Deep Seaport. It was a very active demand from the governor of the state,” he said.
The Vice President observed that the infrastructure revolution in Akwa Ibom was to establish the state as a major industrial hub not only for Nigeria but the West Africa sub-region.
He recalled that Governor Emmanuel had in 2015 informed of the vision to construct the tallest building in the South-south and South-east region in the state.
“Today (Friday) I feel with joy and pride to witness the realisation of that dream to celebrate a commitment to excellence and vision represented in this 21 storey building.
“But this building is not just the tallest in the south-south, south-east regions. It is certainly the latest in Nigeria and West Africa.
“By the completion of the Dakkada Tower, it will definitely address the paucity of the world class office accommodation for both local and corporate international companies especially oil and gas companies.
“With this development the big players in corporate Nigeria especially in the oil and gas industry should find it entirely auspicious to relocate their administrative headquarters to Uyo.
“This Tower is a-state-of-the- art smart building combining architectural beauty with the latest technology developed for efficient and smart work place.
“In my opinion the Dakkada Tower is to create the enabling environment for investment to thrive. Also the Dakkada Tower will complement government efforts at improving the standard of living in the state.
“I am very proud of what my brother, governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has achieved in his six years of stewardship as governor of this state especially with his industrialisation agenda.
“Your focus on infrastructure development is significantly at one with the centerpiece of the federal government agenda,” the Vice President stated.
Governor Emmanuel said he was excited with the inauguration of the project. “Everything we do is a vision of what we want to break into.
“There were a lot of people when we started this project, they said this building will be completed.
“Today we are presenting to the Akwa Ibom People, Nigeria and the world the smartest, most intelligent building Nigeria can boast of,” Emmanuel said.
The Vice President said the housing estate would be “a nice little place where one can hide away,” adding, “The Dakadda Luxury Estate is strategic, people across the country will want to come here, and when they come they will have a decent accommodation to raise their children. The facilities here would meet the needs of residents and meet their standard of what should be a home.”
The governor said that the luxury estate project was driven by housing demand from foreign investors, noting that 13 per cent of the estate had already been sold out.
“We are having pressure on accommodation. We are having an influx of foreigners who are looking for where to build houses. We had to create a new estate that will be friendly to all.”
“As we are standing here, 13 per cent of the estate has been sold out to non-indigenes. Everything that a luxury estate should have is here. The water here is WHO standard. The power supply will come from two sources; we are bringing in a gas turbine that will generate 15MW of electricity,” Udom said.
The Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, Pastor Umo Eno, whose ministry supervises the Dakkada Luxury Estate project said the estate is designed such that residents can tele-work.
Eno said the estate was part of the full plan by the governor to ensure smart living for investors coming into the state.
The commissioner announced that the experience office where one can make enquiries about the estate is opened and called on real estate investors to look up to the estate as a “place of peace and quiet.”
According to him, each plot in the estate is in the average 2,000sqm and each square meter is sold for N30,000.
He said that the estate which was a 10 minutes drive from the Victor Attah International Airport sits on 171 hectares of land across Uruan and Ibesikpo Asutan local government areas of the state.
Eno said that the luxury estate was designed to have around-the-clock broadband internet service through fibre optics cables, a WHO standard water supply and treatment plant, a safe city security system, a power sub-station, fire sub-station, police station, and school.
The estate, according to him, will also have a church, shopping mall, clinic and health centre, a civic centre as well as a central sewage and gas supply.
