The Special Assistant to Akwa Ibom State Governor on Media, Mr. Richard Peters, has slammed the governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Congress (YPP), Senator Bassey Akpan, over his recent comments against Governor Udom Emmanuel on the 13 per cent oil derivation windfall.
Akpan, the senator representing Akwa Ibom-North-East (Uyo) Senatorial District, had, during a ward-to-ward campaign at East Itam in Itu Local Government, said Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike’s disclosure had confirmed his position that Governor Emmanuel had received N280 billion from the Federal Government without accounting for it.
The YPP governorship candidate alleged that he was offered billions of naira, to jettison his governorship ambition and return to the Senate, but he rejected the offer.
He said the money were proceeds from the state government’s share of 13 per cent derivation arrears paid to Niger Delta states, adding that Emmanuel had collected the state share amounting to N600billion.
He regretted that despite the huge sums received by the governor, the state had nothing to boast for.
But Peters, while addressing a news conference, described the allegations as ridiculous and defamatory.
In a statement titled: ‘Governor Emmanuel still saddling on Excellence’, he said he wondered why people would choose to condescend to defamation as a tool for political communication.