To liberate the state from total dependence on federal allocations, the governor announced that he would develop the state through industrialisation.
In an attempt to make good his promise, during the major part of his first term, he visited economic giants in Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore, China, Japan, etc to sign memoranda of understanding for partnership with the state on industrial projects.
The Governor Ayade administration has so far established 33 industries in different parts of the state, ranging from textile, cocoa and rice processing plants, medical and aviation, gas, to the proposed superhighway and the Bakassi deep sea port. There is also the proposed Calachika (chicken) poultry, Calapharm, a drug manufacturing firm. Among the endless list of industralisation-oriented projects is the cocoa processing plant in Ikom.