The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Akpabio

  • PDP lifts Wamakko’s suspension

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party on Monday lifted the suspension order imposed on Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State.

    The PDP National Working Committee had on June 5 announced the suspension of Wamakko from the party for what members described as the governor’s repeated act of insubordination.

    The National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur announced the lifting of the suspension on Wamakko after a meeting of the NWC with some party governors in attendance.

    Tukur also announced that the meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee would be convened on June 20.

    He said the decision to hold the NEC meeting followed a return of normalcy to the party. The PDP held its last NEC meeting in July 2012.

    Addressing reporters shortly after the meeting, Tukur expressed the optimism that the issues that gave rise to Wamakko’s suspension would not resurface again.

    The chairman stated: “Now this issue would never come again. It is a great party, we believe in our nation. We need a party as a platform to stand on, but based on unity, discipline and commitment.

    “We are also going to have NEC, also we have the support to rescind the suspension, which is a very important thing. We rescind the suspension of the governor of Sokoto State.

    “With that, we are ready for further business because NEC is the requirement of our own party, always to get in touch with the people to tell them of our programme; like the state of the nation and also state of the party.”

    The Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, on behalf of the Forum, thanked party’s the leadership for having a rethink on the governor’s suspension.

    Akpabio, who attended the meeting stated: “We want to thank the national chairman and members of the working committee for granting us the privilege of this meeting today.

    “We came as a select committee of the Peoples Democratic Party to discuss the state of affairs of our great party, particularly the relationship between the working committee and the PDP governors.”

     

  • Akpabio seeks probe of students’ riot

    Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, has demanded for an investigation panel to probe last Wednesday’s riot at the University of Uyo.

    The authorities confirmed one student dead in the mayhem while four officials of the National Union of Nigerian Students (NANS) were killed in a road accident same day on their way to the institution to resolve the crisis.

    Engineering students of the university embarked on a peaceful protest against the N100 increase in transport fare from the temporary campus to the permanent site at Nsukara Offot.

    The protest turned violent and the police were called in to restore order.

    A 200-level geology student, Kingsley Umoette, died in the process.

    Akpabio, who was on an on -the- spot assessment of the situation, described the riot as criminal and pre-meditated.

    The governor, who was conducted round by the vice chancellor of the University, Prof. Comfort Ekpo, said the rioters took undue advantage of the disagreement between the authorities and the students to destroy the school’s academic records.

    According to him: “This act is a disaster. My observation here is that the destruction of the buildings was targeted at the 20-year-old school records and examination results.

    “It was a pre-planned arrangement by miscreants, who are ‘professional students’ using the opportunity of the peaceful protest to raze down buildings where the school’s academic records were kept.”

    He asked the police to carry out a thorough investigation into the case and suggested the involvement of visitor to the institution and the minister of Education in getting to the root of the crisis.

    He sympathised with the institution over the sad incident and pledged the state government’s readiness to build and hand over two hostels to the university as soon as the school allocates a site for the project.

    The vice chancellor said the increase in transport fare was introduced with the knowledge of the students’ representatives in a committee set up on the issue.

    The President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) in the university, Lucky Inyang and the vice president of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Ubon Marcus, regretted the incident, blaming it on miscreants who hijacked the peaceful protest.

    The State Police commissioner, Umar Gwadabe, said the 45 suspected rioters arrested are being screened, promising that those found culpable would be charged to court.

     

  • Akpabio ‘s wife marks 42 in style

    Akpabio ‘s wife marks 42 in style

    The age of 42 usually passes without much of fanfare. But when the super rich decide to celebrate, it is bound to generate interest. That was the case with dark and lovely Ekaete Unoma Akpabio who turned 42 on Monday.

    It was pay-back time for the beautiful wife of Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, as family members and friends rallied round her to make her 42nd birthday a memorable one. But her disposition on the day pointed to the fact that she is not given to celebrating her birthdays in a very loud manner. Rather, she sees it as no more than another day in her life.

    While her birthday was meant to be a low-key celebration, the presence of top dignitaries showed she is a gold fish which has no hiding place. Top-of-the-range drinks and assorted meals were served at the occasion.

    The First Lady of Akwa Ibom State was simply full of excitement on that day.

  • Don’t drag Akpabio’s into Wammako’s travail, group warns

    Don’t drag Akpabio’s into Wammako’s travail, group warns

    A socio-political group, Akwa Ibom Progressive Forum (AIPROF) has warned against linking the Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio with the travails of his Sokoto State counterpart, Aliyu Wamakko.

    The warning was in response to media reports that Wamakko was suspended by the PDP because he rebuffed Akpabio’s leadership of PDP Governors Forum.

    AIPROF, in a statement by Oduduabasi Umanah and Utibeabasi Umoren, president and secretary respectively, said Akpabio is known to enjoy the support of his colleagues, while he also gives them due respect.

    The forum stated that while it was happy that “the party had debunked the sponsored story calculated at rubbishing Akpabio and the PDP by the opposition, the people of the country should be aware of opposition shenanigans and their attempt to drag the name of Akpabio, a performer whose good works had been speaking for him, in the mud.”

  • Again, the Akpabio jinx manifests

    The nation was served a yellow card by the Jonah Jang faction of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) penultimate Friday after the re-election of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State as the forum’s chairman. In a move considered by many political observers as an ominous sign for the 2015 general elections, the governors loyal to Jang turned the rule of democracy on its head, declaring that the election in which Amaechi polled 19 votes and Jang polled 16 was won by the latter.

    Not surprisingly, the rebellion against Amaechi was led by Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State who has earned himself a reputation as the chief motivator for the second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan. Of course, many would wonder at the desperation with which Akpabio has been pursuing the Jonathan’s re-election bid in the face of the President’s growing unpopularity. Considering that he only last year predicted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would remain in power for another 50 years, Akpabio’s reputation is by emerging political realities.

    Besides, the Akwa Ibom State governor is fighting an emotional battle. In the build-up to President Jonathan’s presidential campaign about three years ago, I had done a piece as a columnist with Punch newspaper, in which I chronicled the numerous instances where campaigns championed by the governor had ended in fiasco. In the said piece, I had prayed that the campaign train of Jonathan would not suffer derailment with the overzealous involvement of Akpabio. The said piece drew the ire of some Akpabio supporters who bought spaces in the media to hauled abuses at me.

    Of course, they felt a sense of triumph as Jonathan eventually won the election. Lost on them was the fact that the massive goodwill Jonathan enjoyed in the build-up to the election would have dwarfed even the ill luck of Jabesh. Unfortunately, the situation is now different as evident in the loss suffered by the Akpabio camp in the just-concluded chairmanship election of the NGF. The once brimming bucket of the President’s goodwill has drained so much that he cannot even muster enough support from PDP governors to make his favoured candidate win the election.

    Expectedly, many political observers believe the result of the NGF chairmanship election is a microcosm of the fate that awaits Jonathan and his supporters in 2015. There lies the plight of Governor Akpabio whose record of jinxed supports was worsened by last week’s election.

    An abridged version of the piece is reproduced below for the records:

    Nigerians with progressive bent are upbeat about the prospects of Jonathan’s emergence as the winner of the presidential race next year; a development many believe is guaranteed to change the political equation in which the presidency is literally the birthright of the major ethnic groups while the minority groups, including those of the Niger Delta on which the nation depends for survival would only enjoy the right to vote.

    With the voice against zoning getting louder by the day from the most unlikely quarters, such as the North and other parts of the country where Jonathan’s candidacy would have suffered vehement opposition, the coast is getting clearer and clearer for Jonathan to transmute from the providential president he is now to one elected by popular will. Of course, fairness demands nothing less.

    But my worries stem from the prominece Governor Godswill Akpabio is already enjoying among Jonathan’s supporters. The governor seems to have been having a running battle with ill luck. So much so that many people now tend to believe that enlisting his support in a mega venture like presidential campaign could amount to taking a risk.

    Two years ago, the blossoming career of Nigeria’s former WBC heavyweight champion, Samuel Peter crumbled in the face of the mega support Akpabio mounted for him in far away Germany. As Peter’s title defence date with Ukranian boxer, Vitalis Klitchsko on October 11, 1998 drew near, the governor was at his vocal best, telling anyone who cared to listen that Peter was about to tap from his training, perseverance and determination to make the nation proud.

    In the months ahead of Peter’s clash with Klitchsko, the governor threatened to lead a delegation to Germany to witness the fight. “I will be by the ring side in Berlin. When you see Don King (Peter’s promoter) by the ringside in Berlin, the next person you will see is me,” he said. Of course, Akpabio made good his vow to storm Germany. But what happened? Peter was battered by Klitchsko so much that he could not answer the bell in the ninth round. Klitchsko dethroned him as the world heavyweight champion!

    The Akpabio government had a hectic time denying a story to the effect that the governor offered one of the state’s elder statesmen, Obong Donald Etiebet, the sum of $200,000 to embark on a trip overseas for medical treatment. The gesture later turned into a nightmare for the elder statesman as bandits stormed his house and carted the money away.

    The day the Nigerian team played its opening match against Argentina in the World Cup soccer competition held in South Africa in 2010,Akpabio reportedly stormed the venue with a lorry load of cash he promised to dole out to the players if they won. But ill luck connived with ill fate to rob him the chance to celebrate with the Super Eagles as the South American team defeated them and the Nigerian team eventually crashed out of the competition at the group stage.

    The lesson was, however, lost on some Nigerian journalists who converged on Uyo for a conference. According to the then chairman of the Lagos Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Mr Wahab Oba, the governor demonstrated his support for the journalists by giving them a million naira “in fulfilment of his promise to assist us for a project we are doing in Lagos.” But as the media men headed back to Lagos, they were kidnapped by gunmen who kept them for one week before they were set free by policemen.

    With Akpabio now at the frontline of the Jonathan-for-President campaign, will the story be different?

  • Akpabio’s senatorial ambition okayed

    Akpabio’s senatorial ambition okayed

    Stakeholders in Akwa Ibom North-west Senatorial District (Ikot Ekpene) have endorsed the senatorial ambition of Governor Godswill Akpabio.

    The decision was taken at a meeting of stakeholders drawn from the 10 local government areas in the district.

    The meeting was convened by Senator Emmanuel Ibokessien and held at Ritman College, Ikot Ekpene, yesterday.

    Conveying the decision to Akpabio, the stakeholders, who visited him at the Governor’s Lodge, Uyo, said this was a mark of appreciation for his uncommon performance.

    Ibokessien said: “The senatorial district is satisfied with the leadership and performance of our son and hereby passes a vote of absolute confidence on him.”

    Akpabio accepted the resolution and noted that the endorsement was a further call to represent the people at the higher level.

    He said when elected a senator, he would correct some injustices meted to the state at the federal level.

  • Akpabio pays tributes to martyrs

    Akpabio pays tributes to martyrs

    Governor Godswill Akpabio yesterday paid tributes to Nigerians, who were martyred in the course of enthroning democracy.

    Akpabio, who was addressing Akwa Ibom people at the Ibom Hall grounds, Uyo, on Democracy Day, said the Nigerians included the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the late Alfred Rewane, journalists, among others.

    He said: “Without these Nigerians, who lost their lives during the struggle for democracy, the country would not have enjoyed this system of government.

    “It is a common part of the world’s wisdom that life does not give you what you deserve, but what you demand. In the darkest days of dictatorship, we, a saddened people, placed a demand on life for democracy and dared to hope that this country of ours can ring again with the harmonies of liberty, instead of the haunting drone of martial music and military boots.

    “This invigorating dawn of unbroken democracy, whose 14th anniversary we celebrate today, therefore, bears eloquent testimony that truth is resilient, that hope never fails and that mind is stronger than matter. We have cause to celebrate this freedom and democracy because we have taken our destinies in our hands and foisted upon ourselves the government of the people, for the people and by the people.

    “Stony was the road and agonising the path we took to democracy. It was a path, which was watered by the blood, toil and tears of patriots, and paved with broken hopes and shattered dreams. Today, let us spare a thought for those who paid the supreme sacrifice in our march to democracy and let us spare a prayer for their families.”

    Akpabio went on: “We must also remember that in marking this Democracy Day, we are also marking six years of our administration of this our dear state. Half a dozen years ago, we began an unlikely experiment in this state to find out whether God still rules in the affairs of mankind, and whether His will can serve as a compass in the journey of a people.”

  • …Akpabio, others reject result

    …Akpabio, others reject result

    A shocked Governor Godswill Akpabio last night rejected the result of the Nigeria Governors Forum’s chairmanship contest and proclaimed Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State the winner of the election.

    With Akpabio, who leads the recently formed PDP Governors Forum, were nine of his colleagues–Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Idris Wada (Kogi), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Peter Obi (Anambra) and Theodore Orji (Abia).

    They addressed reporters at the Akwa Ibom Liaison office, Abuja, saying 19 of them elected Jang as the new chairman of the forum

    They distributed to reporters copies of a statement entitled “Resolution of Nigerian Governors”, purportedly signed by 19 governors, including Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe, who abstained from voting at the election earlier in the day, and Governor Dankwabo of Gombe who, according to Amaechi’s camp, was not present at the meeting as he was out of the country.

    The resolution reads: “We the undersigned Governors of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, having taken cognizance of the state of the nation and the perception of the Nigerian people, do hereby resolve as follows:

    1. That we thank the out-going Chairman, His Excellency, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State for his leadership and achievements.

    2. That we strongly agree for a change of leadership of the Forum from May 2013 to May 2015.

    3. We hereby, therefore, elect His Excellency Jonah Jang of Plateau State as the new Chairman of the Forum.

    Signed :

    Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Dankwambo I.H. (Gombe); H.S.Dickson Esq (Bayelsa); Garba Umar (Taraba); Suswan Gabriel (Benue); Peter Obi (Anambra); Idris Wada (Kogi); Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo); Jonah Jang (Plateau); Muktar R.Yero (Kaduna); Sullivan I.Chime (Enugu); Martin N.Elechi (Ebonyi); Isa Yuguda (Bauchi); Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta); T.A.Orji (Abia); Ibrahim Shema (Katsina): Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe); Liyel Imoke (Cross River); and AbdulFatah Ahmed (Kwara).

    Akpabio said Amaechi ought to have resigned his position as chairman of the NGF before seeking re-election.

    He said Amaechi’s non-resignation breached the rules.

    Yuguda expressed disbelief at the outcome of the election in spite of the fact that the PDP Governors Forum supposedly presented a common candidate.

    Jang echoed Yuguda’s viewpoint, wondering how he could have lost when he had the backing of northern governors.

    However, a governor at the election dismissed the claim of the anti-Amaechi forces.

    He said the pro-Amaechi group suspected from the outset that the other side was up to some mischief.

    His words: “Some of us had a premonition that some anti-Amaechi governors might be desperate and we decided to video tape the election process.

    “Now, we are vindicated as they are crying over spilled milk. Nigerians should ask them why they refused to address the press after the election at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge?

    “The so-called list released by Governor Godswill Akpabio is strange and extraneous in order to scuttle Amaechi’s mandate.

    “It is laughable that they even included the name of Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Geidam, who was not in Abuja to vote, in their list. This has shown how desperate they have become.

    “What they released was the list of the governors who signed to vote for the anointed candidate of the presidency who eventually did not contest.

    “They could not even be smart. Collection of signatures is different from actual voting. They coerced some governors to sign but these governors ended up voting according to their conscience.

    Responding to a question, the governor added: “We stand by the mandate which has been hardly won by Governor Amaechi.”

    Our correspondent put a call through to the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh at 9 .18 pm yesterday, to seek the party’s position on the outcome of the contest.

    He responded that it was solely an NGF affair, saying that the election was not about the PDP and that the party did not monitor the exercise.

    Metuh abridged the conversation and excused himself. He promised to get back to our correspondent later, but he never did at press time.

  • Akpabio seeks enthronement of rule of law

    Akpabio seeks enthronement of rule of law

    Akwa Ibom Governor Godswill Akpabio has called for the enthronement of the rule of law in Nigeria.

    He said citizens must insist that the government at all levels do things in line with the Constitution.

    This, he said, is the only way to sustain the country’s democracy.

    Special Assistant on Media to the governor, Deacon Jackson Udom, in a statement, said Akpabio spoke while fielding questions from reporters on his return from the Commonwealth Lawyers Conference held in South Africa.

    The conference’s theme dwelled on the promotion of rule of law and democracy in Commonwealth countries.

    The governor, a lawyer, was the moderator at the closing ceremony of the event which hosted lawyers from 54 countries.

    “We were there to promote the rule of law and democracy in our countries,” Akpabio was quoted as saying.

    The Governor had emphasised the need for those in positions of authority to abide by democratic principles and processes in governing the electorate.

    On the concluded Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zonal meeting of the Southsouth Region in Asaba, Delta State capital, which had governors, Senators, House of Representatives members, Board of Trustees (BOT) members and state chapter chairmen from the zone, Akpabio said the gathering appraised the challenges facing the party and the nation.

    According to him, the meeting passed a vote of confidence on President Goodluck Jonathan for his effort in improving the country’s infrastructural , especially the construction of East-West Road, building of railways and airports, among others.

    Akpabio said the present security challenges of the country would soon be a thing of the past.

    Also commenting on the just-concluded Southsouth and Southeast governors meeting in Asaba, the Governor said it was aimed at bringing back the unity of the defunct Mid-Western and Eastern Regions by forming “monolithic blocs” for political unification and economic co-operation.

    He said the forum explored how to enhance economic re-integration between the two geo-political zones.

    It also considered the possibility of rehabilitating regional infrastructure such as the federal roads and rail system, and looked at how to harness the regions’ coastal and marine areas for transportation.

    Also considered was the dredging of sea ports in Rivers and Cross River States, as well as the Ibaka Seaport in Akwa Ibom for moving of goods, Akpabio disclosed.

     

  • PDP Governors’ Forum, PFN hail president

    PDP Governors’ Forum, PFN hail president

    The Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio, has lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for “the bold step he has taken to stop the needless bloodshed in some parts of the North”.

    Akpabio denied knowledge of a purported Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) meeting opposing emergency rule in any part of the country.

    Akpabio thanked Jonathan for allowing the elected governors to remain in office and work with the relevant security agencies to restore sanity.

    The National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Dr. Felix Omobude, hailed the President’s decision.

    The PFN boss expressed optimism that the emergency rule would check the activities of the terrorists.

    He condemned the murder of Rev. Faye Umar, the Secretary– General of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Borno State chapter.