Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has recently flagged off three community assistance projects initiated by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.
Speaking during the ground- breaking ceremony of the Acquisition Centre located at Community Technical College, Ikot Akata in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, the governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel promised to assist the oil company and however, hoped for more of such physical projects by ExxonMobil in its host communities and across the state.
On his part, Governor Udom Emmanuel commended the new Executive Chairman of ExxonMobil, Paul McGrath and indeed, the entire management for ensuring that the projects eventually became a reality after being in the pipeline for the past four years.
Emmanuel, who expressed the hope that the development would encourage a deeper collaboration between the company and the state, assured of the readiness and commitment of his administration to provide infrastructure and security towards the relocation of ExxonMobil headquarters to its operational base. “I am going to provide you 21-storey building to relocate to Akwa Ibom State because all your operations are here in Akwa Ibom. And I want to reassure you that we will give you maximum cooperation and peaceful atmosphere,” he added.
Mr. Paul Arinze, General Manager, Public & Government Affairs, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, who described the N13 billion community assistance projects as historic, however, explained that the projects were carefully cited in locations where they will impact the people. He said: “We hope that this collaboration between NNPC/Mobil Joint Venture will continue to build. We hope that the Trauma Centre located at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo, will be a major life- saver in Akwa Ibom State.