Group blasts A’Ibom ex-gov over failed coconut refinery

Contrary to claims by former governor of Akwa Ibom state, Udom Emmanuel that the State’s multi-million-dollar coconut plantation and refinery project was destroyed by irate youths from Eastern Obolo local government area, a civic advocacy and human rights group, has accused him of insincerity.

Open Forum, a watchdog group known for fearless activism and radical stance on governance and accountability, told BusinessDay that the project died on arrival.

Earlier in a report, tagged, “A’Ibom Boils at 38 as Udom’s Camp Pins Failed Factories on Akpabio”, the collapse of the refinery was linked to communal crisis, as officially explained by government sources. But President of Open Forum, Mathew Koffi Okono, popularly known as Citizen MKO, insisted that the project was doomed to fail.

According to him, no soil tests were conducted before the plantation was sited. “The project was never intended to succeed,” Okono alleged.

“We met with soil scientists, traditional rulers, and community leaders to appeal for a halt and expert input. But as usual with Udom’s administration, all entreaties fell on deaf ears.

“When he blamed his failure on (mbiam) ie witchcraftcy, we went back to the site and found coconuts as stunted as predicted, due to poor soil quality.”

Okono added that interviews with plantation staff at the time were “heartbreaking,” revealing systemic neglect.

The Group called on the State Government to declare the project a failure and seek expert counsel.

“The project was designed to fail, and the huge investment pumped into it remains unaccounted for.”

Udom had publicly accused youths of Eastern Obolo Local Government of destroying the plantation, describing it as an “extremely unfair setback” at a time his administration was claiming to be negotiating with foreign investors.

At a road inauguration, he lamented that :The entire coconut plantation that we did and has been fruiting already has been destroyed. The youths of Eastern Obolo went and destroyed all those plantations. A multi-million-dollar project is all gone, and we have a refinery.”

He argued that the project was a major employment generator, claiming that over 350 people, none from his own village, were engaged across Eastern Obolo, Ikot Abasi, and Mkpat Enin Local government areas.

The St. Gabriel Coconut Factory, initiated in 2017 as part of Udom’s industrialisation drive, was billed to process over one million coconuts daily. Built by Turkish firm VKS on 7.88 hectares in Mkpat Enin, it featured production areas, treatment plants, and staff quarters.

To support it, government launched the planting of two million hybrid coconut trees across 11,000 hectares in several LGAs, touted as Africa’s largest coconut plantation.

During a 2021 inspection, Udom promised the refinery would create 1,300 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. At its inauguration in 2022, he said it would boost the State’s foreign exchange base. Thousands of seedlings were earlier distributed to schools and organisations to ensure steady supply.

But with the refinery today still stalled and plantations failing, critics argue that the “signature” project of Udom’s industrialisation agenda has collapsed under the weight of poor planning and lack of accountability.