To accelerate the infrastructural development of the state, the Akwa Ibom State Government has been devoting 80 per cent of its annual budgets on capital projects and 20 per cent on recurrent expenditure.

The State Deputy Governor, Mr. Nsima Ekere, who stated this on Wednesday when he received the National President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Hajiya Maryam Ladi Ibrahim, in Government House, Uyo, pointed out that Akwa Ibom was the only state in the country to have recorded this feat.

He said it was as a result of this bias on capital expenditure that the state has been able to record landmark infrastructural achievements, including the construction of over 211 brand new roads, the completion of the Akwa Ibom International Airport and the Ibom Power Plant, in addition to unprecedented programmes such as the free and compulsory education for all children of school age living in Akwa Ibom, irrespective of state of origin, and free health care for children under five, pregnant women and the aged.

The Deputy Governor, who stood in for Governor Godswill Akpabio, also disclosed that the Akpabio Administration in the last four years has successfully executed all its huge projects without borrowing from the bank by prudently managing the state's resources.

He commended members of ANAN working at different levels in the Administration, including the State Accountant-General who doubles as the State ANAN Chairman, for assisting the Administration to ensure this prudent management.

Mr. Ekere said the Akpabio Administration was committed to the training and retraining of its staff and their welfare, stating that the Administration has released N5.5Billion for the payment of minimum wage to its workers with arrears with effect from April.

He stressed that Akwa Ibom State was very peaceful and conducive for investors willing to do business in the state. The ANAN President, Hajiya Ibrahim, lauded the Government for the infrastructural transformation of the state and for being gender-sensitive by appointing several women into key positions of responsibility.

She also commended the State for being one of the two states in the country to place ANAN members trained at National College of Accountancy, Jos, at their proper level, level 10, in the civil service. Hajiya Ibrahim, who said she was in the state to attend an event in honour of a former President of ANAN, Prof. Edet Iwok, thanked the Government for its support for the association, including the donation of land for the construction of its secretariat, and urged the Government to report any of its erring members in the Government's employ to the association for sanctions.