Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Finance,  Mr. Bassey Albert Akpan,  has hit back at  the critics of the state over the planned N33 billion Tropicana Galleria Entertainment complex of the government, saying no amount of criticism and blackmail would compel government to abandon the scheme.

Critics of the state government  had said that spending such a huge amount of money on entertainment park was another reckless expenditure when millions of indigenes of the state were living in extreme poverty.

The  money, according to critics, could have been channeled  to elevate the situation or provide enabling  environment for investment.

Dismissing the position of the critics however, Akpan who fielded questions from newsmen in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital,  shed more light on why the state government was determined to  execute the contract.

Under the scheme, he said a five-star hotel of 250 rooms to complement the Ibom Le-Meridian five-star hotel of 150 rooms, a galleria with cinema, a tin and water parks, a 10, 000 sitting capacity dome  and a shopping mall of 200 shops are being proposed.

“If government can spend N33 billion to construct a facility of this magnitude, go and find out how much the last administration expended in building the Ibom Le-Meridian  hotel.

“This is one project that will change the face of Akwa Ibom state. I want to assure  the people of Akwa Ibom State that there is no level of blackmail that will stop government in doing all these things we think are right and good for the people of Akwa Ibom State.

“You can subject this project to any kind of criticism, constructive or destructive, by the time you weigh the option, you will know that we have taken a part that will position Akwa Ibom State in the 21st century.

 We are going ahead with this project and will finish it by the Special Grace of God”, the Commissioner declared.

He insisted that the state government observed due process in the award of the contract to one of the best companies  in the world, indicating that the facility among others,  is to make the state an investment  destination.

“When you want to make a state an investment  destination, it is not  by mouth, you must back it up with action. Our contract and commitment is for the people of Akwa State. We refuse to be cowed into anything. This government will remain focused until we get to our promised land”, he added .