Akwa Ibom; Like “a Nation within a nation.”

The city is a historic trading hub linking the key cities of Aba and Umuahia in Abia State to Uyo in Akwa Ibom and Calabar in Cross River State.
Ikot Ekpene is within an hours drive from Port Harcourt and Owerri.

Vice President Kasheem Shettima attended the senators’ retreat event. He was hosted by Pastor Umo Eno, who is the current governor of Akwa Ibom State.

The area where the Four Points hotel is located was, for many decades, previously a prison facility right in the center of the city.
This prison was said to be placed in that location in place of an earlier plan for a university.
This prison facility became the major landmark in Ikot Ekpene.

When Godswill Akpabio became the Governor of Akwa Ibom, he engaged with the federal government, who solely controlled prisons at the time.
Akwa Ibom State built a brand new prison facility in a new location and donated it to the federal government, and hence, the prison was relocated to a new place.

The old location of the prison was then transformed into a recreation park, shopping areas, and a five-star hotel, whose construction began.

Akpabio’s successor, ex Governor Udom Emmanuel, finished the hotel and signed a management deal with the Sheraton Hotel Group before the end of his tenure.

Today, Goverrnor Umo Eno is hosting senators and other government and business guests from local and global destinations at the Four Points by Sheraton.
It is a lovely hotel facility.

For the business person,
Ikot Ekpene City offers an attractive location with a large variety of untapped opportunities.
Canadian Partners who would like to do business in Nigeria might find the city attractive.
It’s nick name the “Raffia City” is derived from the widespread availability of the raffia palm tree, from which is produced a wide variety of raffia products including clothing, furniture, household items, gift items, business mementos, food items etc.
Raffia products are not only beautiful and durable but also environmentally friendly.
These would make good export items to the North American market.

Ikot Ekpene also has a range of other opportunities in palm oil, kernels, limestone, clay, real estate, retail, education, etc.
Its strategic location also makes it a good place to site businesses targeting Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Imo, and River States, all of which are within a one hour drive from Ikot Ekpene city.

Traveling from a location such as Canada to Ikot Ekpene is easy. One option is a flight from Toronto via Accra.
From Accra, the Akwa Ibom State owned airline, Ibom Air flies directly to Uyo, a flight duration of a little over an hour.
The establishment of Ibom Air was made possible by the federal government liberalizing air licenses.
The airline partnered with Egypt Air to achieve high operational standards.

Alternatively, a flight from Toronto to Lagos and then to Uyo or to Port Harcourt are options.

The Victor Attah International Airport in Uyo has recently expanded by opening a brand new terminal described as Nigeria’s first smart airport terminal with world-class facilities.
It is a sight ro behold.

On arrival at the airport, the journey to Ikot Ekpene is about a thirty minute drive through through very scenic and well paved roads.

First, the six lane dual carriage airport road towards Uyo city.
Then, the ten-lane Ring Road IV, which is one of four bypasses that skirt around the city of Uyo to avoid traffic and then onto the four-lane Uyo-Ikot Ekpene Highway.

The Uyo-Ikot Ekpene highway is a major commercial artery in the region.
This is another federal road that was in disrepair for a long time.
While waiting for the Federal Government to fix the road, Akpabio, in 2014, during his tenure as Governor, commenced the upgrade and expansion of the highway from single to dual carriage way.
His successor,
Governor Udom Emmanuel finished up the project and opened the road to traffic in 2021.

Eventually, the federal government, in 2021, paid over 70 billion naira to Akwa Ibom State as a refund for federal projects undertaken by the state government including the Ikot Ekpene Road.
Akwa Ibom also got close to N 200 billion in unpaid oil derivation arrears dating back to 2001.

These funds were then deployed into more infrastructure development accross the entire State, including the airport, highways, tunnels, flood prevention, power stations, hospitals, primary, secondary schools, a University and tertiary colleges, and much more.

The State recently opened Nigeria’s fourth longest bridge, linking previously hard to reach communities. Currently, the State has three world-class stadia, two in Uyo, and one in Eket, the third largest city.

The largest of these stadia, the Godswill Akpabio stadium in Uyo, also christened “the Nest of Champions” is a popular hosting ground for the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s footbal team.
The architecture of the stadium was inspired by the FNB stadium in Soweto, South Africa, which hosted the finals of the 2010 soccer World Cup.

The stadium also hosts CAF league finals, the most recent being between clubs from Morocco and South Africa.

On arriving Ikot Ekpene, the business person may check into the Four Points hotel or any of several other hotels in the region, and from there explore the warm culture and the varied opportunities in the city, Akwa Ibom State, and Nigeria as a whole.

Akwa ibom is positioned to be an alternative location for business guests who do not like the hustle of the bigger cities and who prefer a more laid back but neat and tidy location with facilities including malls, access routes, recreation centre’s, decent housing etc.

Soon to be added are a refinery by BUA and a multi-million dollar fertilizer plant by Moroccan investors.

The State also hosts a 50,000 Ha free trade area, licensed in 2021. A seaport is also under development.
The Seaport and Free trade area are very dear to the State, because Akwa Ibom people have been lobbying for these facilities for over fifty years and were eventually granted licenses in 2021, another example of a breakthrough in Federal, State collaboration.

Currently, several factories have begun operations in the Free Trade area.
With all these things, Akwa Ibom has positioned itself to be “a nation within a nation,” operating every facility that used to be limited to the federal government.

This is a prime example of the potentials of the Nigerian sub national governments. A good template for all Nigerians states, some of whom are already pursuing a similar journey facilitated by recent signed laws, which empower the States to do more.

For business partners, the internet, technology, air travel, and roads make it poasible for your business to operate from Akwa Ibom to service all parts of Nigeria and the world.

Looking forward to seeing you in Nigeria and Akwa Ibom!

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