FOR THE RECORDS

ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PASTOR UMO ENO, Ph.D, GOVERNOR, AKWA IBOM STATE DURING THE 2ND PLENARY SESSION OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF NIGERIA – SEPTEMBER 11TH–19TH, 2025, IKOT EKPENE CATHOLIC DIOCESE

PROTOCOL
1. Let me, on behalf of the Government and people of Akwa Ibom State, welcome the Catholic Bishops who have gathered here for the 2nd Plenary Session of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, hosted by the Catholic Diocese of Ikot Ekpene.

2. Permit me to specifically welcome the Papal Ambassador to Nigeria, Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty, the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, and indeed all the invited guests to this great event.

3. Let me again express, on behalf of our people and Government of our dear State, our deepest condolences on the passing of Pope Francis and congratulate you on the historic election of Pope Louis XIV, the first American to be so elected.

4. Permit me to equally salute and commend the Catholic Diocese of Ikot Ekpene, especially the Bishop, Most Rev. (Dr.) Camillus R. Umoh, for hosting this Conference and for the warm and cordial relationship we have enjoyed with the Catholic Church and indeed the Body of Christ since God elevated me to the position of Governor of this blessed Land of Promise.

5. The Catholic Church has played key roles all over the world, from democratic, authoritarian, and socialist systems, in demanding fair, equitable, and good governance that places the welfare of the people at the centre of policy formulations and implementation.

6. The Church has been a voice of moral suasion, insisting on human rights and humane treatment of migrants, especially those who obey the laws of the nations they have been accepted to reside in, given the fast-expanding borderless or globalized world we currently inhabit.

7. Here in Nigeria, we celebrate the role Catholic priests such as Cardinals Olubunmi Okogie, John Onaiyekan, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah among other eminent Catholic Priests in fighting injustice, enthronement of democracy, and other social issues, especially those concerning the poor, the vulnerable, and the voiceless.

8. Our Administration is heavily invested in lifting people out of poverty and giving voice and comfort to the poor and the vulnerable. That’s why we have spent billions of Naira in initiating programmes that seek to improve their living conditions.

9. A separate stand-alone Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs was created by our Administration specifically for this purpose. To date, we have built and handed over 205 Arise Compassionate Homes for the poor, the widows, and the most vulnerable amongst us. Sometimes, I am almost drawn to tears when I see the joy expressed by the beneficiaries of these homes, all of which are fitted with modern features such as solar and borehole.

10. We are also paying 50 thousand Naira monthly to 600 elders drawn from all the 368 wards in the State, for them to take care of their medical and other urgent needs. We are currently undertaking another round of free food distribution exercise for the neediest and the most vulnerable across the 368 wards, drawn from the Social Register. So far, we have covered 477,000 households in phases one and two and will do another round in time for the Yuletide period.

11.This was the promise I made during our successful gubernatorial campaigns that we will run a Christ-centric government, a fact that was re-echoed in my inaugural speech.

12. We have enrolled over 120 thousand persons and families under our Arise Medical Insurance Scheme, and at our last EXCO meeting, had declared an Emergency on our healthcare service, aimed at plugging the gaps in our service delivery in that all- important sector.

13.We have paid over 70 billion Naira from the 98 billion Naira we had inherited from previous administrations in backlog of gratuities, so our retirees, some of them in poor health, may be able to live out their retirement in peace and in relative health.

14.I have always said that I know and feel the pain the poor and the vulnerable are experiencing. I was once there, and the good Lord lifted and gave me a platform of service and I must use the platform to do the best for the most people.

15. Once again, I welcome you to our dear State and pray that this Conference will achieve its purpose of expanding the works in the Lord’s vineyard and as I stated in my Goodwill message that is published in the brochure, help bring “ glad tidings “ deepen peace, love and unity in our State as expressed in Romans 10:15.

16.I hope you will find time, in the course of this Conference, to see how we have utilized the resources God has blessed us with to expand infrastructure and prime our State as the next tourism hub of our Nation.

17. I invite you to visit, among other places, our soon-to-be-commissioned Arise Resorts, possibly the best family-themed resorts in the nation, which will signpost our ascendancy in tourism.

18. I wish you all a happy Conference. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria, God bless Akwa Ibom State.