Ekanem Brown is truly a worthy disciple of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s DAKKADA Philosophy.
For an administration that came into power in 2017, a time that Nigeria and indeed the whole world were crawling out of the worst devastating economic depression of the century, building skyscrapers was the last thing any government would consider as top priority, as majority of electorate just wanted to survive the excruciating hunger that permeated lives across the globe.
It was in the light of the above that the administration of the Executive Chairman of Mkpat Enin LGA, Hon. Ekanem Brown toed the path already set by His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel, as he ventured into ventures with contents that could stimulate economic growth and better the welfare of the people.
Within one hundred days in office, Hon. Ekanem Brown ensured that Mkpat Enin people found a spot on the front seat of the Dakkada initiative of the Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration, through agricultural revolution, encouraging entrepreneurship, skills acquisition programmes and industrialization.
For example, for the first time in the history of Local Government administration in Akwa Ibom State, Mkpat Enin LGA debuted a five hectare irrigated commercial farm to cultivate fast yielding crops with the sole aim of leading our people to migrate from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture, in addition to creating employment for many indigenes who worked as labourers in the farms.
The revitalization, re-equipping and launching of Mkpat Enin shoe factory was also aimed at maximizing available government assets to create employment and earn more internally generated revenue that could be reinvested in other economy stimulating activities. ENIN WEARS was birthed, youths employed, and as at date over one thousand five hundred shoes have been produced, while tens of youths have learnt how to make shoes from our factory.
The Council boss has always maintained that the greatest achievements of his administration in agriculture or shoe making is not the money made from sales of products, but the fact that all those who passed through the factory and farm ended up getting the skills of how to cultivate crops like cucumber, tomatoes, pepper, garden egg in commercial quantity and has further transferred those skills to others, thereby creating an ecosystem of commercial vegetable farmers in Mkpat Enin.
Hon. Ekanem Brown also made a daring move on human capacity development by utilizing the abandoned Oil and Gas Academy in Nya Odiong to train 210 Mkpat Enin Youths on skills that are related to oil and gas industry, such as; rigging, scaffolding, Health and Safety training and welding. The training was aimed at ending the dearth of skilled labourers who could take up the opportunities available for the oil and gas host communities which Mkpat Enin is part of.
Today, Mkpat Enin has a pool of technicians who are already taking advantage of different opportunities in the oil and gas sectors across the country.
Another mind blowing effort in economic empowerment is the giving of grants to 420 Mkpat Enin women who were either struggling with petty trades or looking for capital to start one.
The Chairman supported his wife, Mrs. ImaAbasi Brown to fund Mboho Uforo Iban Mkpat Enin, an association that has become a shining star in the empowerment of rural women in Akwa Ibom State.
During the grand empowerment of Mkpat Enin women with 3.5million naira, the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Her Excellency, Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel did not hide her appreciation to the Chairman and his wife for the good organisation and absence of neither partiality nor political consideration in the selection of beneficiaries of the grants. Today, most of those women have been well positioned to better the welfare of their children and families.
Under Ekanem Brown, the tourism sector has been developed to drive traffic and create economic empowerment to the people. Very thrilling is the testimony of Mrs. Eno Friday Afia who testified on camera that she made over four hundred thousand naira in sales at the Christmas village during the 17 days Colours of Mkpat Enin festival in 2018. Same testimony goes to the over 50 vendors that operated at the Christmas village.
Again, as a Local Government Chairman who came to governance as an accomplished entrepreneur, Ekanem Brown is always passionate about investing in and supporting ideas, needless to mention that records have shown that over one thousand (1000) Mkpat Enin people have gotten direct financial intervention from the council boss since he assumed office in 2017.
Indeed, this is one Local Government Chairman that has always put the interest of his people ahead, and engaged in programmes that create direct impact on the lives of people, in line with the Dakkada philosophy of Governor Udom Emmanuel led administration.
