The contract for the detailed engineering drawing and supervision of a demonstration road has been signed by the Akwa Ibom State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (AKS-RAAMP) and Yaroson Partnership Limited. This is the first road design contract endorsed under the project since it was declared effective in March last year. The 11-kilometer road traverses two Local Government Areas – Ibesikpo Asutan and Nsit Ibom – from Owot Uta to Nung Oku Ekere, Afaha Udo Eyop, Ede Obom, and Utuat Market junction.

The deal was struck during a brief ceremony presided over by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Offiong Offor, and witnessed by the Chairman of the State Project Monitoring Committee (SPMC), Prof Edet Udoh, and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Donor Projects, Mr. Ndianabasi Udom, at the conference room of AKS-RAAMP. The State Project Coordinator, Pastor Gideon Akpan, and the Executive Secretary of Yaroson Partnership Limited, Mr. Vitalis Yahemba, signed the document on behalf of AKS-RAAMP and the firm respectively, while the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Offiong Offor, witnessed the endorsement for the State Government, in line with the World Bank provisions.

In her remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Offiong Offor, congratulated Yaroson Partnership Limited for emerging successfully out of the 26 bidders that contested for the job and expressed the hope that the firm would live up to expectations by delivering on the assignment promptly. Dr. Offor reiterated her commendation to the State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, for his sagacity in keying into the project, pointing out that without his foresight, the huge benefits of implementing the project would have eluded the state.

She also thanked the World Bank and French Development Agency for conceiving RAAMP, her predecessor, Dr. Glory Edet, the Technical Committee on Agriculture and Food Sufficiency led by Prof Edet Udoh, as well as the State Project Implementation Unit of AKS-RAAMP led by Pastor Gideon Akpan, for their respective roles in growing the project from inception to its current heights. Also speaking, the Chairman of the Technical Committee on Agriculture and Food Sufficiency, Prof Edet Udoh, expressed satisfaction that the project had ultimately become a reality, despite the numerous bottlenecks that characterized its preliminary stage. He called on all stakeholders to live up to their individual and collective roles to guarantee success for the project.

Prof Udoh, who is also the Chairman of SPMC, counseled the firm that the contract was time-based and hence they should be swift in carrying out the assignment while paying serious attention to the local content policy by engaging youths of the community in the course of the job, where applicable, and delivering the task promptly.

On his part, the State Project Coordinator of AKS-RAAMP, Pastor Gideon Akpan, explained that the processes which culminated in the emergence of Yaroson Partnership Limited were very thorough, as cross-checked by the Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU) of RAAMP in line with the World Bank requirements. He emphasized that the firm should go the extra mile towards discouraging sexual exploitation and abuse, child labor, and other safeguard issues while the assignment lasts. He added that they should leave no stone unturned towards completing the job on the scheduled time and hoped that physical works would be possible on the road before the end of this year.

Responding, the Executive Secretary of Yaroson Partnership, Mr. Vitalis Yahemba, thanked AKS-RAAMP for the opportunity given to them to serve and promised to deliver the goods promptly. Yahemba, accompanied by Mr. Abdullateef Fadare, Business Development Executive of the firm, noted that Yaroson Partnership had maintained a record of excellence for over 25 years across the country. He assured that they would bring their wealth of experience to bear to ensure prompt delivery of the job.

Yaroson Partnership Limited is an Abuja-based consultancy firm, with over 20 experts across various technical disciplines in its employ, and was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in November 1997.