Akara Is Not Small Business: I Made N10m Monthly From It — Gov Umo Eno

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has revealed that he made not less than N10 million monthly from his akara and bread business before joining politics.

Eno disclosed this during the state’s monthly covenant prayer service on Tuesday. The video started trending on Wednesday.

“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,” the governor said.

“We started coffee shop and then they will take it. Every month, that Akara business used to give me nothing less than N10 million in a month.”

He said workers heading to ExxonMobil in the mornings were his major customers, and the experience taught him lessons about entrepreneurship and building businesses from small beginnings.

Eno’s comment comes months after First Lady Oluremi Tinubu sparked reactions when she encouraged Nigerians to explore small businesses such as akara and kuli-kuli.

Speaking after a Renewed Hope Initiative meeting with wives of state governors in Abuja in June, Mrs Tinubu said such businesses could be started with little capital.

“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,” she had said.

The comment drew criticism on social media, with some Nigerians accusing her of being out of touch with economic realities.

She later defended the initiative, saying it was not limited to akara sellers but also covered tomato sellers, roasted plantain, pepper and vegetable traders. She also announced a N100m intervention for 2,000 petty traders in Jigawa State, with N50,000 each to recapitalise their businesses.

President Bola Tinubu later jokingly referred to his wife as “Iya Alakara” during a Presidential Press Corps Dinner.

Eno’s account has now renewed attention on small-scale enterprises as a means of building sustainable livelihoods.