TheCable

Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom, says Ibom Air will not fall apart after his tenure as chief executive officer of the state.

In the first year of his second term in office, the governor established Ibom Air, the first state-owned airline in Nigeria.

He is expected to complete his eight-year tenure on May 29 as Umo Eno, his former commissioner of lands and water resources, takes the reign of power.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, Udom said Ibom Air is built on the shared value of the Akwa Ibom people.

He said the business would not fail after his time in office, adding that the incoming governor will “think hard” before making a contrary decision.

“Shared value, the culture. The day you break that culture, it means many people will resist it. And once people oppose it, you won’t want to carry the consequence as a politician,” he said.

“We have built that culture so well that even the man himself will think hard before he tries to break it. 

“As a governor and promoter of the airline, if I’m flying and I’m late by one minute, they can never wait for me. There are simple things that matter that people must cue to. We call it simple but these are things that keep the organisation running.

“Even if I close my eyes and leave, we only need capital. It is a business I know that with the shared value that we have, it is sustainable.”