The Akwa Ibom State Government is set to embark on major investment in housing development to facilitate relocation of the headquarters of Mobil Oil Producing from Lagos to its operational base in Akwa Ibom State, in line with Federal Government's directive.
 
It would be recalled that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has directed that all oil companies operating in Nigeria should relocate their head offices to their operational areas in the Niger-Delta.

The State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Bassey Albert Akpan, noted that the state had invested over N83 billion in the development of rural and urban roads in the last one year, adding that the state government now intends to focus on housing scheme in the next six months.

Akpan declared that the massive infrastructural development embarked upon is aimed at realising the state government’s vision of making the state a destination instead of transit point.

The housing project would be constructed in some strategic areas on the outskirts of Uyo, the capital and other major cities.

The commissioner further noted that with the rising investment profile in Akwa Ibom and the prevailing peace, the state has become a haven for investors and tourists. The housing intervention, he pointed out, will also enable the state host some businesses in the volatile part of the Niger-Delta on the verge of relocating to the state. He added that the government plans to open up the major ring roads to ease the expected traffic congestion that would follow the investment inflows into the state in the next couple of years.