Tinubu to commission multi-billion naira projects in Akwa Ibom

President Bola Tinubu is scheduled to commission eight major projects in Akwa Ibom State on Friday, but questions surrounding billions of naira allocated to the projects and the government’s compliance with public procurement laws have cast a shadow over the inaugurations.

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The projects include the Airport-Okopedi Road, Ring Road 3, AKWA-GIS Office Complex, Command and Control Centre, ARISE Palm Resort, the International Terminal Building, International Airport Hospital and Ibom Aviation Village.

The presidency announced on Thursday that Mr Tinubu would visit Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on Friday to commission the projects executed by the administration of Governor Umo Eno before attending an All Progressives Congress political rally in nearby Rivers State.

An examination of successive budget documents by PREMIUM TIMES shows that many of the projects attracted substantial allocations between 2023 and 2026, yet their original contract sums, contractors’ details and procurement records are not publicly accessible.

The absence of these records raises questions about compliance with the Akwa Ibom State Public Procurement Law, which requires the government to publish procurement information on its electronic portal.

Billions in successive budgets

A review of the state government’s budget documents shows that the Airport-Okopedi Road, a 14.5-kilometre road connecting communities in Nsit Atai and Okobo Local Government Areas, has attracted repeated budgetary provisions.

The project, which dates back to the administration of former Governor Godswill Akpabio and continued under his successor, Udom Emmanuel, has experienced implementation challenges, including the revocation of some contracts along the route.

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Under the current administration, the first phase, captured in the budgets as the re-award of the contract for the dualisation of the 14.5-kilometre Airport-Okopedi Road, received N3 billion in the 2023 revised budget, N8.5 billion in 2024, N23 billion in 2025 and another N15 billion in the 2026 budget.

These provisions amount to N49.5 billion over the four budget cycles.

Another major road project scheduled for inauguration is the dualisation of the 7.868-kilometre Ring Road 3, which connects Idoro Road to Ikot Ekpene Road through Uyo and Ibiono Ibom.

The project, handled by Hensek Services, attracted N21 billion in the 2024 budget, N15 billion in 2025 and N13 billion in 2026, bringing its cumulative budgetary provisions to N49 billion.

Despite the scale of the allocations, PREMIUM TIMES could not find the original contract sum or obtain publicly accessible procurement records detailing the award and implementation of the project.

The ARISE Palm Resort, another major tourism project initiated by the administration and listed for inauguration, also received substantial allocations.

The state budgeted N29.99 billion for the construction of the resort in 2025 and another N10 billion in 2026.

An additional N5 billion was provided for erosion-control facilities around the resort and connected to Udo Inwang Street, near the resort.

The resort is part of Governor Eno’s tourism development agenda, which has involved major public investments in recreational and hospitality infrastructure.

PREMIUM TIMES had previously reported concerns about the absence of procurement records and contract details for the administration’s Ibom ARISE Park and Resort project.

The newspaper found that the government had not published the contract sum, procurement documentation or bidding records for the project on the state procurement portal.

The International Terminal Building at the Victor Attah International Airport has also attracted substantial allocations under the Eno administration.

The state provided N21.1 billion in the 2023 revised budget, N14.35 billion in 2024, N16.2 billion in 2025 and N8 billion in the 2026 budget for the project.

The allocations total N59.65 billion across the four budget cycles.

The terminal, however, presents a separate accountability question because it was already commissioned by former Senate President Bukola Saraki on 26 May 2023, shortly before Mr Emmanuel left office.

In May 2025, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Governor Eno said he inherited the terminal at almost 40 per cent completion, despite its commissioning under his predecessor.

The newspaper also found that the state continued to allocate money to the facility after its inauguration.

The latest decision to include the terminal in the list of projects scheduled for commissioning by Mr Tinubu raises further questions about the extent of work completed after its initial inauguration and the additional public funds committed to it.

Airport facilities, other projects

Other projects scheduled for inauguration at the Victor Attah International Airport include the International Airport Hospital and Ibom Aviation Village.

The hospital project is captured in the state budgets as the remodelling and upgrade of the Victor Attah International Airport Clinic, including the construction of call rooms.

The government allocated N2 billion for the remodelling and upgrade in 2025, alongside N700 million for the purchase of equipment.

The Ibom Aviation Village, captured in the budget as the Aviation Housing Estate, received N6.62 billion in 2025 and N5.98 billion in 2026.

The state also made provisions for the Command and Control Centre, including N500 million for equipping and furnishing the facility in 2025 and another N1 billion in 2026.

However, PREMIUM TIMES could not identify specific budgetary allocations for the AKWA-GIS Office Complex in the budgets reviewed under the Eno administration.

For these projects, the government has yet to make publicly accessible details showing their original contract sums, subsequent variations, contractors and procurement processes.

Procurement law questions

The absence of publicly available contract information is noteworthy because the Akwa Ibom State Public Procurement Law provides for transparency in the award and implementation of public contracts.

Section 61(5) of the law mandates the Public Procurement Regulatory Agency and other procuring entities to promptly and routinely publish procurement information on the state’s electronic portal.

The provision is intended to ensure that members of the public can access information about government procurement and examine how public resources are committed.

However, searches by PREMIUM TIMES on the state’s procurement portal did not reveal the contract details of the projects scheduled for inauguration.

The newspaper also found no publicly available evidence establishing that the contracts were subjected to open competitive bidding, as provided for under the state’s procurement framework, or that any applicable exceptions were properly invoked.

Without the disclosure of contract sums, bidding records and award details, it is difficult for the public to on their own determine whether the projects were awarded in accordance with the law, whether the costs show value for money and how much the government has actually spent on them.

The concerns come against the backdrop of previous PREMIUM TIMES investigations into procurement transparency and fiscal accountability under Mr Eno.

Four days ago, the newspaper reported that the state government had received at least N3.218trillion in public revenue within 41 months of the governor’s administration but had stopped publishing detailed capital expenditure records, making it difficult to track spending on major projects.

Other reports by the newspaper have documented the government’s failure to disclose procurement details for major public investments, including its N42 billion compressed natural gas bus project and the N15.47 billion rehabilitation of the State House of Assembly complex.

Government keeps mum

PREMIUM TIMES sent a media enquiry to the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, seeking clarification on the projects and the absence of their procurement records.

The newspaper asked the government to provide the total cost of each project, including the original contract sums and any subsequent variations or revised costs.

It also requested details of the procurement methods used in awarding the contracts and whether the processes complied with the procedures and approvals prescribed by the state’s public procurement law.

Additionally, the newspaper asked why the contract awards, sums, contractors and other relevant procurement records had not been published on the state’s procurement portal, as required by law.

Calls to Mr Umanah did not connect. He also did not respond to text messages, WhatsApp messages or a message sent through Facebook Messenger.

The commissioner had not responded to the enquiries as of the time of this report.

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