WorldStage— The Akwa Ibom Government says it has grown its marketable securities portfolio to ₦47.2 billion and recorded estimated annual savings of over ₦10 billion through payroll reforms.
Dr Linus Nkan, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, disclosed this during the ministerial briefing in Uyo on Wednesday.
Nkan said the state’s investment outlook showed that the marketable securities portfolio had grown from ₦17 billion in 2025 to ₦47.2 billion in 2026.
He said that the state’s 2025 budget recorded 84.4 per cent implementation based on actual revenue, while the 2026 budget achieved 64.6 per cent performance between Jan. and Sept.
According to him, interventions under the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus programme (AK-CARES) include; ₦10, 000 cash transfers to 16, 950 residents, rehabilitation of 76 rural roads and the 118 micro projects that benefited 153, 288 residents.
Nkan added that dividend collections also rose to approximately ₦500 million in the current year, with Champion Breweries and Tropicana among enterprises that had begun paying dividends.
Speaking, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Emem Bob, said that the present administration had settled ₦39.83 billion inherited commercial bank loans and paid ₦111 billion in gratuity arrears, leaving about ₦11 billion outstanding.
Bob said that the state Governor, Umo Eno, had promised to clear the remaining liability.
He also said that the state had earned ₦9.7 billion through the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SEBA) programme.
He added that the investment portfolio of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated had increased from ₦6 billion to ₦11.19 billion, generating annual returns estimated at between ₦470 million and ₦500 million.
The commissioner further disclosed that the state had provided ₦386 million in loans to 429 civil servants and invested ₦16 billion in Anchor Insurance to strengthen the state-owned company.
The Commissioner for Information, Dr Aniekan Umanah, said Eno’s administration was committed to addressing inherited financial obligations, and strengthening the state’s investment base.
Umanah added that the introduction of digital reforms into the governance of the state was to make public services more accessible and government operations more efficient.
The Commissioner for Science and Digital Economy, Mr Frank Ekpenyong, said that the digital reforms in the last three years had exposed irregularities, especially in the payroll.
Ekpenyong said the reforms helped establish a cleaner database, resulting in estimated annual savings of over ₦10 billion.
“Civil servants can now access their payroll information, view deductions and verify themselves through a digital platform.
“The state’s digital ticketing platform has also generated ₦44.9 million from 201, 889 tickets sold as at the close of business on the day preceding the presentation,” he said.
According to him, 23, 535 students have received the state’s ₦50, 000 bursary across 131 institutions, with beneficiaries drawn from all 31 local government areas of the state.
