Healthcare: Akwa Ibom Govt Earns Commendation From US Ambassador
- The Udom Emmanuel-led administration has been hailed by the United States government
- The US government through its ambassador in Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard hailed the government's investment in healthcare
- The ambassador, however, noted that there is room for improvement in the sector, especially in Akwa Ibom state
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The Akwa Ibom state government has earned a commendation from the United States of America for its investment and achievements in the healthcare sector.
The commendation was given by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard on Tuesday, May 4 when she visited Governor Udom Emmanuel at Government House, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.
Ambassador Leonard said she was pleased to have the opportunity to visit Akwa Ibom to ascertain the status of the US-founded projects, after constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Twitter
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The US envoy who said the Akwa Ibom state government is a model in the pandemic management and fundamental support for the USAID projects in the state expressed delight over the investments made by the Akwa Ibom state government in the health sector.
Speaking during the visit, Governor Emmanuel asked for deeper synergy with the United States of America and the involvement of the state in the implementation of American government-assisted programmes for effective monitoring, transparency, and benefits for the people.
A statement sent to Legit.ng by the Akwa Ibom state government quoted the governor as saying:
“If the projects must go to the implementing partners, let the state government be the third party for proper monitoring and transparency in its financial reporting.”
He emphasized that the US partnership with the state government will ensure that the programmes executed by the American government will be of immense benefit to the people as the funds allocated will trickle down to the appropriate locations without encumbrances.
The governor asked for the non-inclusion of the state in the travel alerts the embassy regularly put out, maintaining that the state has always been adjudged one of Nigeria's most peaceful and investor-friendly states in the nation.
Meanwhile, Akwa Ibom has been ranked one of the best performing states in the 2020 sub-national budget transparency survey.
The survey which was conducted by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre to ascertain the level of budget performance by states of the federation revealed that Akwa Ibom and four other states topped the budget performance index for the year, 2020.
In a related development, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom recently vowed to complete all major infrastructural projects in the state before leaving office.
The governor listed the Ibom Deep Seaport and the Ikot Oku Ikono flyover as some of the projects he hopes to complete before 2023.
Source: Legit.ng
