Juliana Olayinka, London bureau chief of Channels Television, has praised Umo Eno after spending four days in Akwa Ibom State.
The 40-year-old shared her impressions in a series of posts on Instagram, X and LinkedIn on Monday following her visit.
“Four days in Akwa Ibom State and I am still processing what I witnessed.
“The people stopped me in my tracks. The climate is breathtaking. And the pace of development happening quietly in this corner of southern Nigeria is unlike anything I have seen in a long time.
“His Excellency Governor Pastor Umo Eno gave me extraordinary access over four days. An international airport now cleared for global flights. A state-owned airline. A deep-sea port in development. World-class hospitality infrastructure. And a vision for tourism that is coherent, ambitious and already being built.
“Most of the world does not know about this place in the way that it deserves to be known. That is about to change.
“This week I am sharing everything. Stay with me,” she wrote on Instagram.
In a separate post on X, she said: “I have just spent four days in Akwa Ibom State and I am still processing what I saw.
“The people are extraordinary. The climate is perfect. The pace of development is unlike anything I have witnessed in Nigeria in recent memory. An international airport. A state-owned airline. A deep-sea port. World-class hospitality. And a warmth that makes you want to stay.
“The strange thing is that most of the world has no idea this place exists in the way that it does. That is about to change.
“Governor Pastor Umo Eno is building something real. And I was given four days to see all of it up close.
“Stay with me this week. I have a lot to share.”
On LinkedIn, she added that: “Nigeria’s governance conversation is dominated by Abuja and Lagos. But some of the most consequential infrastructure development happening on this continent right now is taking place in the south, driven by state-level ambition that deserves far more international attention than it receives.
“Akwa Ibom State under Governor Pastor Umo Eno is building with intent and at pace. An international airport cleared for global flights. A state-owned airline preparing for international operations. A deep-sea port in development. A 350-bed specialist hospital. And a Governor who gave me four day of extraordinary access and warmth that matched the ambition of everything he is building.
“This week I am bringing you the full story. The Governor. The Deputy Governor, the first woman ever democratically elected to that office in Akwa Ibom’s history. And the human stories behind the infrastructure numbers.
“The African infrastructure story is not waiting for the world to catch up.”
Olayinka had earlier interviewed the governor in London during Bola Tinubu’s visit to the United Kingdom in March.
“I sat down with Akwa Ibom State Governor Pastor Umo Eno in London during the state visit week.
“He came with two specific investment asks. A deep seaport ready for development. An electricity partnership as Nigeria’s power market opens to the states,” she wrote on March 28.
Before joining Channels Television in 2019, Olayinka worked with Thomson Reuters, Arise News, TRT World and Africa MediaWorks Limited.
