Umo Eno, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, disclosed that he earned at least N10 million monthly from his bread and akara business before entering politics.
Eno made the disclosure during the state’s monthly covenant prayer ceremony on Tuesday. The revelation went viral on Wednesday.
The governor said he started by selling bread and akara, which he branded as “Akara Burger,” before expanding the business into a coffee shop.
“We still have that shop there. I started selling Akara and bread. Back then, I was doing Akara Burger. We open the bread and put it inside for you. People going to Exxon Mobil will buy it in the morning, take coffee.
“We started coffee shop and then they will take it. Every month, that Akara business used to give me nothing less than ₦10 million in a month.”
According to Eno, clients, particularly employees heading to ExxonMobil in the morning, regularly patronised the business.
He said the experience taught him valuable lessons about entrepreneurship and building a business from scratch.
The governor’s remarks came months after First Lady Oluremi Tinubu sparked reactions when she encouraged Nigerians to explore small businesses such as akara and kuli-kuli to improve their livelihoods.
Backstory…
Tinubu said Nigerians could start such businesses with relatively little capital during a June Renewed Hope Initiative meeting with wives of state governors in Abuja.
“We’re trying to give hope, and to start Akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn, or somebody even said kuli kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant.”
However, Some Nigerians criticised her remarks on social media, accusing her of being disconnected from the country’s economic realities.
She later defended the initiative, saying the empowerment programme covers vendors of tomatoes, roasted plantains, peppers and vegetables, alongside akara sellers.
The First Lady also announced a N100 million intervention for 2,000 small traders in Jigawa State. Each trader would receive N50,000 to recapitalise their business.
Read Also: ‘Live By Example, Start Hawking In Lagos’- Yoruba Union Condemns First Lady Oluremi Tinubu
