The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Godswill Akpabio

  • Akwa Ibom teachers on strike for unpaid salaries

    Teachers in Akwa Ibom State have begun an indefinite strike over non-payment of their salaries, promotion arrears and leave grant by Governor Godswill Akpabio.

    The teachers, under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), said they would not go back to classes until the state government honoured the agreement it reached with the union.

    The union is also not happy with the government over the non-payment of promotion arrears since 2009 to date to its members in the primary schools.

    The details of the indefinite strike were contained in a circular by the Union’s Secretary, Dr. Mike Ike-Ene.

    The circular indicated that the union proceeded on the strike following the breach of agreement between the Akwa Ibom government and the union.

    The circular reads: “The teachers of Akwa Ibom State have resolved that failure to address all the issues already negotiated and, agreement reached in concrete terms will make teachers not to report for work.

    “All appeals by the union to make State Universal Basic Education to clear the backlog of the arrears promotion owed primary school teachers in the state has proved abortive.

    “Teachers in the primary schools system have not been paid their leave grant since 2012.”

    The union also alleged that pensions and gratuities due to the primary school teachers and their 2014 December salaries had not been paid.

    The union advised its members not to return to classrooms until all cases of bio-metric data capturing issues were resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.

  • At a time like this

    At a time like this

    Friendship, trust and loyalty are suffering at a time like this in the Southsouth. Politics is bringing some together and pushing others apart. Almost nowhere else is the race to pick tickets to run for one elective office or the other is as fierce as it is in this oil-rich region.

    At a time like this, you see opponents carry a casket and say what they have inside is the body of a man who is alive. Blows are exchanged; guns boom; and ways are parted.

    At a time like this, everything becomes Charly Boy Show where anything can happen. One wonders whether it is all about serving the people.

    Some people’s prayers have been answered; others are gnashing their teeth. Money has gone down the drain and no ticket to show for it. Their ambitions have to take a break.

    At a time like this, the likes of Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio have had their prayers answered. The governor had two prayer requests: a Senate ticket and tickets for his men to run for governor, Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly. God in His infinite mercy granted both requests. By His grace, Akpabio got his ticket from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); he got Udom Emmanuel the governorship ticket; he got his former Commissioner for Finance Obong Bassey Albert a Senate ticket and got many others tickets for other offices.

    With a ticket for Senate in Albert’s hand, the music has changed. His portrayal of Akpabio makes me wonder if it is the same guy who had dressed down Akpabio some months back. He described him as a quintessential leader in a message published to mark the governor’s 52nd birthday. These are indeed interesting times.

    For seven years, Akpabio trusted Albert, saw him as a son and bestowed the exalted office of finance commissioner on him. But no thanks to the 2015 governorship race, things fell apart between the duo. Albert disagreed with Akpabio’s succession plans.

    I remember one thing Albert said then clearly; he said he was in the race not just for the fun of it but because there was a prophecy that he would govern the state. He was running with the vision.

    Albert and other former allies’ actions angered Akpabio and he declared at the sod turning ceremony for the PDP secretariat in Akwa Ibom in July: “Christ did not say that there will be no Judas. Even our God Almighty recognised that even the people he worked with, and called them angels, that one of them was going to betray him. And that was Lucifer, what did God do? He threw him out of heaven. Has he entered heaven till today? Those who have betrayed the governor will not enter Government House.

    “You empower your children so that they will be a pride to you. You don’t empower them so that they come and betray you. That is the lot of the world.

    “I go back into the Bible, the Game Changer (Adamu Mua’zu). I saw the story of Absalom. And I said may God take away the spirit of Absalom from our midst. Who was Absalom? The son of David, the father trained him and empowered him as the would-be King of Israel. Because of impatience, Absalom wanted to take over before the age of 30. He wanted to kill King David. And the King said, leave him to his fate.”

    He then asked the crowd at the ceremony: “Did it end well with Absalom?”

    The crowd responded: “Nooooo!”

    He went on to explain what happened to Absalom: “As a young man, he died, while his father continued. I am assuring the Game Changer (PDP National Chairman Adamu Muazu) and the President that those who want to take power through the backdoor will die. They will die! And the PDP will continue. In Akwa Ibom State, those who want to betray, who were supposed to be our political children, of course they will end like Absalom. But if they change their minds, then they will obtain favour from the sight of God.”

    Albert did not take kindly to Akpabio’s statement.  In an interview with our man in Uyo, Kazeem Ibrahym, he diplomatically ‘finished’ his political father. He said the story of Absalom was quoted out of context. His reason:  “If you read your Bible very well, then you know that despite Absalom’s behavioural deficiency, King David was still in love with him. I want to say that if the governor was referring to me as Absalom, then he should love me to the end.”

    It seemed the governor listened to Albert’s advice. He sought him out and fences were mended. The same senatorial position Albert said he earlier rejected is what he eventually settled for and I ask: what happened to the vision that he would be governor. May be it is postponed till after 2023, when the next governor would have served out two terms.

    At a time like this, Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson is also a happy man. His prayers were also answered. His men are in control of the tickets and loyalists of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, are reportedly angry and thinking of dumping the PDP. And in Cross River, Governor Liyel Imoke is in an expansive mood too. His men are in control of the tickets. Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba who ran against the grain is bruised and shouting foul.

    As expected the prayer of ex-Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike to clinch PDP’s governorship ticket in Rivers was answered. He is to face the urbane Dr Dakuku Peterside of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream). It is a race to watch.

    At a time like this, unlike Akpabio, Dickson, Wike and Imoke, it is no laughing moment for Prof Julius Ihonvbere, ex-Edo State Secretary to the State Government (SSG), and Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s Chief of Staff, Patrick Obahiagbon. Their prayer requests were not approved. Their senatorial bids suffered setbacks after they could not get their party’s delegates’ nod. Ihonvbere quitted his position as SSG after losing the ticket. Is he angry with the governor for not helping him win the ticket? I don’t know for now. Oshiomhole accepted his resignation and wished him well.

    With Obahiagbon’s loss, the Senate will miss jaw-breaking expressions, such as “the intention is not to deliberately befuddle or obfuscate them”, or “ I do not set out to deposit my audience in a portmanteau of indecipherability”.

    At a time like this, one man I cannot but pity is Tony Obuh, who many of us were already seeing as Delta State’s next governor. He was Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s man and we all thought all was settled. His fall proved the axiom that 24 hours is a long time in politics. The calculations changed close to the primaries and Obuh only managed to get a few votes. The beneficiary of his loss is Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, a man who actually boasts of more experience in governance having been Commissioner for Health, SSG and Senator.

    At a time like this, I cannot but remember a good man whose dream of contributing to Delta’s development crashed like a pack of cards. He is Dr Ogaga Ifowodo, poet, rights activists and university teacher. The APC delegates did not find him good enough. Or was it that he had no enough cash to run the race?

    At a time like this, some lose, some win. It is a time when new friends will be made; old ones discarded; and new alliances cemented.

    At a time like this, one can only hope that candidates will have it at the back of their mind that it should be about service and that if it is about service, violence should play no role. Guns should not boom; thugs should be made redundant; and peace should be the ultimate goal of all.

  • Akpabio, Orji, Fayose to mediate in Ebonyi PDP crisis

    Akpabio, Orji, Fayose to mediate in Ebonyi PDP crisis

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has drafted Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Theodore Orji (Abia) and Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) into the congress crisis in Ebonyi State.

    The crisis, which was triggered by last Saturday’s House of Assembly primaries, has pitted Governor Martin Elechi against his predecessor, Dr. Sam Egwu and other party chieftains.

    While Elechi is insisting that the primaries did not hold, the Egwu faction said the exercise was conducted in a free, fair and transparent atmosphere.

    A statement on Sunday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Dr. Onyekachi Eni, said the national leadership of the party, in response to certain developments in the party in four states, postponed the primary election.

    Elechi regretted that despite the party’s position, disgruntled politicians continued the deliberate act of misinformation and falsehood to blackmail the party and sow the seed of discord.

    He said Ebonyi, Adamawa, Taraba and Ondo states were affected by the postponement, regretting that “desperate politicians and agents of falsehood went to media houses to announce that the primaries would hold as part of a pre-mediated plan to cook up a fictitious list of candidates as the outcome of such exercise.”

    But the national leadership of the party said it had received the results of the disputed primaries. It advised members to disregard the governor’s statement.

    A statement yesterday by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh said the party dismissed the governor’s claims.

     

  • AFCON FLOP: Akpabio calls for reorganization

    AFCON FLOP: Akpabio calls for reorganization

    As reactions continue to trail Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio has called for a ‘reorganization’ of Nigerian football.

    The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time in three years, a development which has led to calls for different actions from different stakeholders.

    And Governor Akpabio, who hosted the African champions at the new Uyo Stadium where they could only manage a 2-2 draw against South Africa – which ultimately sealed Nigeria’s fate – believes it is also time for some ‘self-introspection’ in Nigerian football.

    “If we had won, it would have been fantastic but then what it means is that we have to do a lot of self-introspection,” Akpabio told sl10.ng.

    “We have to reorganize ourselves and we have to get ready.

    “Yes indeed football has gone down in the country and what do we do to make sure that we don’t have this kind of situation in the future.”

    The 51-year-old governor, who has widely been lauded for his achievements in governance in the Akwa Ibom State, has also called for a stakeholders meeting where issues affecting the country’s football shall be discussed and solutions proffered.

    “We must have a stakeholders meeting and all hands must be on deck and then we have to go back to the drawing board to ensure we reorganize sports in general and football in particular,” he said to sl10.ng.

  • Akwa Ibom: Aspirant unfolds programmes

    Akwa Ibom: Aspirant unfolds programmes

    Akwa Ibom State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Mr. Benjamin Okoko has  urged the party to provide a level-playing ground for contenders during the primaries.

    He said, if there is a free and fair shadow poll, he will emerge as the flagbearer.

    For almost one year, he has been holding consultations with stakeholders. Many PDP chieftains perceive him as a popular aspirant, who is fit to succeed Governor Godswill Akpabio. He is a foundation member of the party.

    Also, party chieftains believe that he will continue with the “uncommon transformation agenda” of the administration. He has been vying for the governorship since the days of the military rule.

    Okoko, who spoke with reporters in Uyo, the state capital, promised to make “uncommon sacrifice “ for the state.

    He said: “It has to do with my own value of life. How do I see life? What do I want in life? For me, great societies are built on the sacrifices of people, at some point in time, who determines that the cause of history must go this way.

    “If water is flowing towards a specific direction, you can say no, let it flow this way and change its cause. I like to go into history as the poorest man that left the Akwa Ibom Governor Lodge after my tenure as governor. What does that mean? I will give my own to the service of the people.”

    Okoko promised to preside over a prudent administration, if elected as governor. He said: “Government will never have enough resources to do everything it should do. One hundred per cent resources of Akwa Ibom I will commit to the development and wellbeing of the people of the state.

    “I hope that my personal sacrifice and stewardship will help the cause of our people and inspire others, who will come after me, to truly see that there is greatness in giving your own and greatness in poverty; that there is greatness in contentment.

    “After my tenure, if I leave office with a pair of trousers, I will wear it and I will be a happy man; very satisfied man. I will be a true soldier and die at my post, provided the needs and welfare of the people of Akwa Ibom are met and that is why I have christened my aspiration “uncommon sacrifice.”

    The aspirant urged the people not to relent in their support for his aspiration.  He added: “They should support Benjamin Okoko as the next governor of Akwa Ibom State so that, together, we will be able to build a state that will meet the needs and aspiration of the future generation.

    “I will unite the state, reconcile all groups, bring down political pressure, tension, contain insecurity, restore peace and reach out to everybody.

    “I will not leave anybody behind because Akwa Ibom needs us now more than before. The issue of unemployment, creation of wealth in the polity and industrialisation will be addressed through the provision of constant power supply during my tenure.”

     

     

  • Akpabio urges PSN to build factory in Akwa Ibom

    Akpabio urges PSN to build factory in Akwa Ibom

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio has urged the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) to consider building a drug manufacturing industry in the state.

    Akpabio spoke yesterday when executive members of the society, led by its National President, Olumide Akintayo, visited him at the Governor’s Office in Uyo.

    Akpabio said: “I want to urge you – because you are investors – this is a place you can build your factory to manufacture drugs. The ambience is right; there is peace. We have prepared the place for you by putting the requisite infrastructure in place. We have a large customer-base and you have opportunity to export because of the upcoming seaport.”

    The governor urged PSN to rid the profession of unqualified personnel.

    He said: “We depend so much on you. You can do more for Nigeria; I urge you to do more. Help us to remove quacks from your profession by setting up a monitoring unit. You must set up a robust monitoring team to monitor what you are doing.

    “For you to be successful, you must monitor even the curriculum of the various universities so that they don’t end up producing graduates that do not know anything about Pharmacy.”

     

  • Akpabio urges PSN to build factory in Akwa Ibom

    Akpabio urges PSN to build factory in Akwa Ibom

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio has urged the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) to consider building a drug manufacturing industry in the state.

    Akpabio spoke yesterday when executive members of the society, led by its National President, Olumide Akintayo, visited him at the Governor’s Office in Uyo.

    Akpabio said: “I want to urge you – because you are investors – this is a place you can build your factory to manufacture drugs. The ambience is right; there is peace. We have prepared the place for you by putting the requisite infrastructure in place. We have a large customer-base and you have opportunity to export because of the upcoming seaport.”

    The governor urged PSN to rid the profession of unqualified personnel.

    He said: “We depend so much on you. You can do more for Nigeria; I urge you to do more. Help us to remove quacks from your profession by setting up a monitoring unit. You must set up a robust monitoring team to monitor what you are doing.

    “For you to be successful, you must monitor even the curriculum of the various universities so that they don’t end up producing graduates that do not know anything about Pharmacy.”

     

  • How Akwa Ibom senator’s consultation ended in fiasco

    How Akwa Ibom senator’s consultation ended in fiasco

    It was supposed to be a mere political consultation with the members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Governor Godswill Akpabio’s local government area in Essien Udim but it all ended in violence. Several people were injured.

    The political team of a PDP governorship aspirant and senator representing Akwa Ibom South/Eket Senatorial District, Senator Helen Esuene, left Eket on a political consultation but the meeting was disrupted by youths from Governor Godswill Akpabio’s Local Government Area who attacked the gathering.

    The senator was said to be addressing the PDP members when thugs stormed the scene, attacking everybody in the hall. The thugs also upturned tables and chairs.

    The senator, according to eyewitnesses, was said to have been surrounded by her supporters during the melee and whisked away from the scene of the incident.

    The Chapter Chairman, Friday Udoh, was not spared by the youths, who descended on him for allowing Senator Esuene to come to Essien Udim for consultation.

    One of the PDP members, Willie Etim, who managed to escape unhurt, said: “As I am talking to you, I am not sure if all members of the entourage came out safely. We had to rush her out immediately in the melee that left many people injured. Everything was scattered and many people were injured.”

    Commenting on the incident, the Deputy Director-General of Senator Esuene’s campaign team and former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Bassey Essien, said such an ugly incident in the governor’s community was uncalled for.

    He said: “I am surprised. This is democracy. I don’t see any moral justification for hired tugs to stop a sitting senator and a PDP member from canvassing for support in any part of this country. I am surprised.

    “I am appealing to the party and the Federal Government to look into the incident, because as I am talking to you, I don’t know what happened to the law party members. The thugs invaded the place and they were all armed with guns, shooting indiscriminately into the air.”

    The cause of the violence, according to the Chairman of Essien Udim LGA, Nse Ntuen, was the non-availability of transport fare for the youths.

    Ntuen said the youths were afraid that the chapter chairman would embezzle their money so they descended on him.

    His words: “The non-availability of transport money sparked the protests from youths and other attendants who knew they would be leaving home without their usual transport money. They descended on the chapter Chairman Friday Udoh.”

    Esuene, in an account  by www.theeagleonline.com.ng and National Mirror, said she was attacked by political thugs during her campaign for the governorship ticket of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the party’s secretariat in the local government.

    Her words: “We arrived the Peopless Democratic Party office Essien Udim Local Government Area at about 3pm and were warmly received by the party Chairman, Mr. Friday Udo, and other party officials and then conducted into the hall with songs and dances.

    “Party officials, women, elders and youth filled the hall. The person who returned my stolen phone, is, interestingly, the Personal Assistant to the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, Ukopng Akpabio, who is cousin to the governor. They are of the same family.

    The armed youths who came into the hall were identified by the people. They are not strangers.

    “They are from the area. The incident happened on Wednesday and up till now, the local government chairman has not deemed it fit to call me in order to find out what happened but he had gone on air to say I was not the target and went further to describe the incident as a mere misunderstanding between the boys and the chapter chairman. I ask myself: a mere misunderstanding, which led to injuring of many people?

    “A very peaceful assembly was disrupted. The hall was vandalised, people’s cars destroyed and personal property like phones, shoes and money stolen in the process. If it was a mere misunderstanding between the chapter chairman and the youths, why didn’t they wait for me to leave? Why didn’t they go to his house, after all he lives with them?

    “Why did they have to come while visitors were holding a legal meeting in a party office? Up till now, there had been no arrest yet. I am still waiting, but in a nutshell, the people that came in were not part of what was happening in the hall. They came from outside. They did not make any statement. They did not talk to anybody. They just came straight to the hall.”

    Ntuen said neither the senator nor any member of her campaign team was touched or harassed by the protesters.

    He, however, said  he was aware of the visit of the senator and her campaign team to the local government area.

    The council chairman said the ignorance of the organisers of the consultation in not involving the security operatives from the local government left a large security gap at the function.

    The local government chairman apologised to Esuene and her team over the “intransigence” of the Essien Udim PDP chapter chairman.

    The state government also condemned the attack on the senator.

    Commissioner for Information and Communications Aniekan Umanah said Akpabio instructed him to dissociate the state from the attack.

    His words: “The governor has condemned the attack of Senator Helen Esuene. The action of the irate youths on the distinguish senator is condemnable.

    “The governor is not happy over the incident. The local government was not against any aspirant from coming to the area for consultation or campaign.”

    Umanah added that the attack was not targeted at Esuene, but the youth were not happy with the Peoples’ Democratic Party Chapter Chairman, Friday Udoh.

    He said that the crisis erupted because Udoh had instructed the senator to pay their consultation fee of N1m into his account which was improper and unacceptable to the youths.

    Akwa Ibom State Police Commissioner Gabriel Achong denied any knowledge of attack on Esuene.

    CP Achong said it was a case of misunderstanding between the senator and the youths over  money.

    His words: “I was told the senator came for consultation and they were in the Unity Hall. After the consultation, it got to the issue of money. The senator said she had paid in the money into the party’s account.

    “The youths asked why she paid the money into the party account because the youths wanted cash. The police escorted the senator out of the venue immediately. Not that somebody came from anywhere to attack the senator. There was no commotion/attack of any sort.”

    While condemning the attack on the senator, the President, Essien Udim Council on Political Affairs, Aniefiok Akpan, decried the rising political tension in the state.

    Akpan said if such was not contained, it could escalate to the point of disrupting the political process and governance in the state.

  • Akwa Ibom proposes N492b budget for 2015

    Akwa Ibom proposes N492b budget for 2015

    AKWA Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio has sent N492 billion draft budget for 2015 fiscal year to the House of Assembly for consideration and approval.

    The amount, which was against N498.5 billion for 2014, showed that capital expenditure N268 billion against N336 billion for last year.

    Recurrent Expenditure has N94.7 billion against N74.2 billion for last year.

    Commissioner for Finance Akan Okon, who announced the draft budget yesterday at the Executive Chambers of the Governor’s Office, Uyo to reporters, said members of the state Executive Council, presided over by Akpabio, approved it.

    Okon added that the government was committed to the completion of such flagship projects as Tropicana Entertainment Centre, roads, specialist hospital and Four-Point Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene and others.

    The commissioner, who attributed the increase in recurrent expenditure for next year to the employment of additional 5,000 teachers and more civil servants, hailed the governor for his vision in embarking on and completing the projects.

    He hoped the next administration would sustain the projects.

    The Permanent Secretary, Directorate of Budget, Governor’s Office, Uyo, Pastor Nicholas Ekarika, thanked the governor for not deviating from the 80 per cent for capital expenditure and 20 per cent for recurrent expenditure for many years now.

    Ekarika called on the state’s ministries, agencies and parastatals to be judicious in the implementation of the budget.

     

  • Akpabio to aspirants: ‘Get elected as wards delegates’

    Akpabio to aspirants: ‘Get elected as wards delegates’

    Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has charged aspirants jostling to take over from him as governor of the state under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to go back to their wards to be elected as delegates in the forthcoming primaries of the party.

    Akpabio, who stated this while addressing thousands of party faithful and supporters who thronged the Ibom International Airport to welcome him, disclosed that the guidelines stipulate that only elected delegates at the ward level would be qualified to vote at the governorship and other elective primaries.

    Akpabio who was accompanied by the state Chairman of the party, Obong Paul Ekpo, the Secretary to State Government, Mr Udom Emmanuel and other party elders on their return from a meeting with the Integration Committee of the PDP also promised that the party would ensure a level playing field for all aspirants contesting for positions.