Umana promises to support 10,000 start-up businesses in his first year in office

Mr. Umana Okon Umana

The APC Governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Umana Okon Umana has stated that his administration will, through various incentives, support the establishment of 10,000 new businesses in the state in his first year in office.
“Whatever business idea you have, whether it is distributive trade, agriculture and agribusiness, manufacturing or service, my administration will provide financial support and other incentives so that in my first year in office, our people can generate up to 10,000 start-up enterprises”, Umana told a large gathering of supporters at Oko Ita, headquaters of Ibiono Ibom LGA on Saturday, 24 January.

“These ventures will help us tackle unemployment, create wealth and reduce poverty”, Umana told the jubilant crowd.

Umana’s pledge was quickly endorsed by a well-known Akwa Ibom businessman, Dr Ime Umana who announced at the rally that it was the military government of U. J. Esuene who gave him a grant of N6, 000.00 in the early 1970s to start his business. 

Said Dr. Ime Umanah: “That is what a responsible government is supposed to do: support private people to create enterprises and generate jobs and wealth.”

In the area of health care, the APC candidate stated that his administration will build one general hospital per each LGA so as to improve the quality of health services. Right now, many LGAs in the state do not have a general hospital.

Even Uyo, the State capital, with a population of over two million people, has only the Anua Hospital which was built in the 1940s by the Catholic missionaries. Although the hospital has been handed back to the Catholic Church by the State government, the facilities are antiquated, dilapidated and largely inadequate for a modern growing city.

In the area of education, Umana reiterated his earlier promise to increase students’ bursary from N5, 000 to N50, 000 and award of scholarship to Akwa Ibom students who have first-class degrees to study in the Ivy League universities abroad. 

The APC governorship candidate asked the voters not to sell their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) or give them to people for photocopying. “Anybody who ask you to sell your PVC or submit it for photocopying is a criminal who wants to perpetrate electoral fraud,” he said.