Akwa Ibom gov orders relocation of Chinese firm over alleged emission

Forum 8 months ago

Akwa Ibom gov orders relocation of Chinese firm over alleged emission

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has ordered the relocation of a Chinese firm, Golden Tripod Limited, located along the Ikot Ekpene Road, Uyo, to the Ibom Industrial Park in Itam, Itu Local Government Area of the state.

He also directed the Commissioner of Environment, and the Commissioner of Internal Security to carry out an investigation into the activities of the company and submit a report within 48 hours.

Eno who gave the order while kicking off the construction of a 2.2km Tabernacle Road project, off Ikot Ekpene Road on Thursday, said it was wrong to site factories in the middle of a city. He said the report available to him indicated that there were always serious emissions from the factory.

“Commissioner for Environment and Commissioner for Internal Security, I want to have a report on what this factory manufactures in the next 48 hours.

“I understand that there are always serious emissions around here. Please first of all find out what they do and immediately relocate them to the industrial park. It is not proper to cite factories in the middle of a city,” the governor stated.

While urging investors to utilise the industrial park, the governor assured that with the new innovations from the government, the park would provide a conducive environment for industries to thrive.

“That park has been partitioned into one hundred and fifty plots of between four thousand and five thousand square meters.

“What we are saying is that those who are ready to establish industries should come and analyse the kind of industry they intend to create. They will tell us the time frame and the number of people that will be employed, and we will then allocate land for them.

“We are going to fence it around. We will put a police station there, we are going to get a power station to be there, we will make water available too. It will be like any industrial park anywhere in the world so that when we look at your project, we can allocate land for you there,” he added.

Speaking on the Tabernacle Road project, Gov Eno said, “It was your desire to have a Government that will come and remember the poor and rural dwellers. That is the kind of Government you voted for. This is that dividend of Democracy I promised you. We have come here to thank all the Uyo and Itu people who supported us during the election.”

Presenting an overview of the Tabernacle Road project, the Commissioner for Works and Fire Service, Professor Eno Ibanga, said beyond the road construction, the project is a major de-flooding work to reclaim the entire area, adding that the end result of the project will be a respite for the people of Uyo and Itu LGAs.

He said the 2.2km road project will be finished with a 0.97 km underground drain that will empty into the Calabar-Itu road drainage, assuring of his Ministry’s commitment to ensure that contractors deliver according to specifications handed to them by the state government.