Senate President Godswill Akpabio has promised to avoid fighting Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno despite party differences.
Akpabio, ex-governor of the state, made the promise at the weekend during a thanksgiving mass held in honour of Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, at Our Lady of Mercy Chaplaincy, in Abak Local Government of the state.
He said he would continue to work for the peace and development of his home state across party lines.
“As an elder statesman, my major concern now is to work for the peace and unity of the state and by extension Nigeria.
“I’m not interested in any kind of war. I am more interested in bringing development to the state. If there should be any competition among us, let it be in the overall interest of our people, like competing for development and life changing projects for our people.
“If the governor is bringing a project to street or road A, as the President of the Senate, I should be seen working on bringing water or electricity to street or road B. This is the kind of competition I want to see and not unnecessary bickering that brings no good to our people,” he noted.
Akpabio hailed Ekpo for remembering to thank God after his nomination and swearing-in as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and member of the Federal Executive Council.
He said: “We are who and what we are today because God made it possible for it to be so. It is, therefore, imperative that we give thanks always. I thank you for not forgetting the God who made it possible for you to be who you are today.
Read Also: Why I don’t want war in Akwa Ibom, by Akpabio
“Let me also take this opportunity to once again thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting an Akwa Ibom son to occupy the number 3 position in the country. It has never happened since the creation of our dear state.”
Governor Eno advised Akwa Ibom people to support any indigene of the state in any position of authority for the benefit of the state.
He stressed his readiness and that of his government to put the state and its people first without any political or religious consideration.
Ekpo said his sudden introduction to President Bola Tinubu by the President of the Senate, Akpabio, as the ministerial nominee from the state looked like a joke to him.
According to him, “when I was formally introduced to President Tinubu by my leader and President of the Senate for this ministerial appointment, it looked like a joke to me. Subsequently my name was announced as a nominee and when I appeared before the Senate, I was told to take a bow. Today, I am a Minister of the Federal Republic.”
Ekpo said he was in God’s presence to return all thanks to God for using President Tinubu and Senator Akpabio to make his appointment possible.
“I am here today with my family to return thanks to God Almighty for making today possible. I also thank our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, for finding me worthy of this appointment.”
Ekpo pledged his readiness to do his best for the state, its citizens and Nigeria as a whole, to ensure Nigeria reaps from its enormous gas resources for the country’s development.