Akwa Ibom Assembly Probes Ownership Of Ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel’s Failed Multi-Billion-Naira Projects
Akwa Ibom Assembly Probes Ownership Of Ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel’s Failed Multi-Billion-Naira Projects
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The probe, announced by Speaker Udeme Otong during plenary, follows petitions from angry landowners and complaints from workers owed seven months’ salaries. The refinery — named after Emmanuel’s late father — was touted as a flagship agricultural-industrial venture but has remained shut for months, leaving hundreds jobless.
The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has opened an investigation into the ownership of several companies established under former Governor Udom Emmanuel, following the collapse of key projects, including the multi-billion-naira Saint Gabriel Coconut Oil Refinery at Mkpat Enin.
The probe, announced by Speaker Udeme Otong during plenary, follows petitions from angry landowners and complaints from workers owed seven months’ salaries. The refinery — named after Emmanuel’s late father — was touted as a flagship agricultural-industrial venture but has remained shut for months, leaving hundreds jobless.
Other high-profile projects linked to the former governor and concentrated in his Awa Iman hometown in Onna LGA — including a flour mill, syringe manufacturing plant, plywood factory, toothpick and pencil production facilities — have also folded barely two years after he left office on May 29, 2023.
Emmanuel’s government had forcefully acquired large tracts of land in Mkpat Enin, Eastern Obolo, and Ikot Abasi LGAs for coconut plantations to supply the refinery, promising long-term economic benefits and higher revenue from coconut oil than crude oil. However, the plantations have largely failed, and affected communities say they were never compensated.
An anti-graft organisation, the Network Against Corruption and Trafficking, had in late January called for a thorough investigation into Emmanuel’s administration.
The latest Assembly action followed a motion by Hon. Uweh Peter Imoh-Ita, representing Mkpat Enin Constituency, titled: ‘Urgent Need For The Akwa Ibom State Government To Pay The Seven Months’ Salary Arrears Of Workers At Saint Gabriel Coconut Plantation And Oil Refinery, Mkpat Enin, Ikot Abasi, And Eastern Obolo LGAs.’
Imoh-Ita told lawmakers that the state government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, recruited several indigenes in 2016 to work at the refinery and plantations. He said salaries were paid regularly until December 2024, after which payments stopped without explanation.
“Some of these workers, who are parents and breadwinners, have been forced to stop going to work due to the inability to afford transport, yet the Ministry of Agriculture has failed to act despite repeated visits by the affected staff,” the lawmaker said.
In response, Speaker Otong set up a joint investigative panel made up of the House Committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Labour and Productivity.
The panel will meet with affected workers, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Labour Commissioner, and other relevant agencies to determine if the refinery belongs to the state or a private entity.
The outcome of the probe could reignite public scrutiny of Emmanuel’s administration, which critics say left behind “white elephant projects” now rotting across the state.
