Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has signed 14 Executive Bills into law, describing the major legislative milestone as a critical step toward institutionalizing key reforms, closing policy gaps, and expanding the reach of his administration’s ARISE Agenda across the state.

Assenting to the legislation at the Executive Council Chambers in Government House, Uyo, Governor Eno emphasized that the newly enacted legal framework spans critical sectors including land administration, social welfare, healthcare, public finance, and education to ensure long-term sustainability and improved public service delivery.

Key statutory establishments under the new laws include the Akwa Ibom State Geographical Information Service (AKWA-GIS) to modernize land administration and simplify land acquisition processes, the Senior Citizens Centre to institutionalize welfare support for the elderly, the Hotels and Tourism Development Commission to enforce industry standards, and the Ibom Broadcasting Corporation to reposition state media for commercial operations.

Additional regulatory bodies and agencies created through the legislation comprise the Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Systems Agency, the Public Procurement Regulatory Agency, the Betting and Lottery Regulatory Agency, the Fiscal Responsibility Board, the Internal Revenue Service, the Office of the Public Defender, the Water Users Association, and the University of Education, Afaha Nsit.

Governor Eno also approved amendments to the Hospitals Management Board Law to decentralize administration through zonal management boards and district hospitals, while announcing plans to forward additional health and environmental sanitation bills to the State House of Assembly to further enhance public health, transparency, and civil enforcement across Akwa Ibom.