To guarantee that the highways connecting the two adjoining states are accessible, the governments of Abia and Akwa Ibom State have partnered on road projects.

This agreement was made on the weekend after the death of Akwa Ibom First Lady Patience Eno, when Abia State Governor Alex Otti paid his counterpart Umo Eno a condolence visit at Government House in Uyo.

The First Lady’s impactful life speaks for itself, and her passing is a terrible loss for the state and the country, Otti said during the condolence visit, expressing the government and people of Abia State’s condolences to Eno, his immediate family, and the people of Akwa Ibom State.

He urged Eno to carry on with his people-focused initiatives in spite of the significant loss, promising Abia’s assistance and repairing the highways that connect the two states for the socioeconomic benefit of all residents.

For the benefit of our residents’ socioeconomic well-being, we will cooperate to repair the highways that connect our states,” Otti stated.

Eno, who welcomed the governor of Abia State, thanked his immediate family and the Akwa Ibom people for their support and condolences during their time of loss, saying that the generosity they got has given them courage.

According to Eno, the deceased First Lady left behind a legacy that will live on forever. She chose her first daughter, Helen Obareki, who was her closest assistant while she was alive, to oversee the First Lady’s office’s operations in order to make sure all of her aspirational goals were maintained.

“First and first, Sir, we would want to thank you for the visit as well as for all of the calls and support. The death of my wife is a lifelong loss, as I often tell others. We have been married for 38 years after two years of courtship. Therefore, it is difficult to forget forty years. She was a successful lady, yet it feels like half of me is gone. She made a difference, became our ministry’s pastor alongside me, and did a fantastic job leading the ladies and constructing houses,” Eno said.

In terms of the road partnership, Eno promised that he was willing to cooperate with the Abia State Government in order to expedite federal intervention on the Ikot Ekpene-Aba road, repair the damaged section of the Ini-Arochukwu road, and take other steps to guarantee the availability of economically viable roads connecting the two states.

“I am certain that we are ready to work together on any other routes that we, as two states, can work on in relation to the one you mentioned. Since our workers will ultimately be using the road, we can examine it and determine how we might collaborate to make it function.

For all of us, Aba continues to be a very powerful regional business hub. Eno said, “I’ll do all in our power to make sure that our people go to and from Aba without incident.