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Tag: Udom Emmanuel

  • Ekere loses local govt as INEC cancels elections in his ward

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Obong Nsima Ekere has lost his local government, Ikot Abasi to his opponent, Governor Udom Emmanuel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Emmanuel scored a total of 9,335 votes to beat Ekere who polled 7,549 out of 17,469 total votes cast in the election.

    The collation officer for Ikot Abasi, Dr. Edwin Nssien disclosed that elections in Unit 004,Ward 1 in Edemaya clan which is Ekere’s polling unit was cancelled.

    Elections were also cancelled in three other wards 2, 3 and 4 all in Edemaya clan.

    Read Also: INEC shocks politicians with late swap of Collation Officers in Imo

    Dr. Nssien attributed the cancellation to electoral malpractices including hijack of election materials.

    However, the APC agent for the governorship election, Archbishop Samuel Akpan rejected the result announced saying it does not a true reflection of the exercise which took place in Ikot Abasi on Saturday.

    Akpan also accused the collation officer for Ikot Abasi, Dr. Edwin Nssien of being a card carrying member of the PDP on a mission to work for the success of the PDP in Ekere’s local government.

  • Displaced A’Ibom community hails Emmanuel over resettlement pact

    The people of Amazaba community in Eastern Obolo local government area of Akwa Ibom state have appreciated Governor Udom Emmanuel for signing a peace/resettlement pact to enable them return to their land.

    Amazaba community made up of 8 villages was involved in a bloody crisis with Ikot Akpan Udo village in Ikot Abasi local government area sometime in 2008 which led hundreds of deaths and destruction of properties on both sides.

    The state government under the then governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio had asked the warring communities to vacate their lands as a measure to forestall further loss of lives.

    Following the development, natives of Amazaba had to seek refuge in other riverine communities within and outside Eastern Obolo, most times living under harsh and squalid conditions.

    For almost 11 years successive administrations in the state could not bring amicable settlement to the lingering crisis to enable the displaced natives of both communities return to their ancestral homes.

    The chairman Development committee of Amazaba clan, Mr. Ezekiel Tiligbor who spoke with our correspondent yesterday said there was a ray of hope for the resettlement of his people following Governor Emmanuel’s endorsement of an agreement granting them permission to return to their ancestral land.

    Tiligbor said, ”The people of Amazaba are very grateful to Governor Udom Emmanuel for signing the peace/resettlement agreement which will enable us return to our home.

    ”We had a fight with our neighbour, the IKot Akpan Udo village. We lost so many lives and properties. We cannot quantify our loss. And I believe Ikot Akpan Udo people also have their sad stories to tell.

    ”It was an unfortunate incident because we and our neighbours had lived peacefully for decades. We inter married and shared so many things in common. The clash was the the most harrowing period of our lives.

    Read Also: A’Ibom speaker wins Etinan federal constituency

    ”We have learnt our lesson that crisis does not bring any good considering the fact that we had to vacate our land to squat in other places for eleven years.

    In the course of these years, we have had to live under very inhuman conditions. As a result, so many of us have died. Our means of livelihood which is fishing had been threatened”.

    The community leader, while thanking the governor for the intervention, promised that the people of Amazaba would vote enmasse for Emmanuel and the Peoples Democratic Party during the governor/assembly elections as a mark of appreciation for helping them resettle in the ancestral home.

     

  • As Udom Emmanuel launches Ibom Airline

    The birth of Ibom Airline couldn’t have come at a better time. The launch of the airline on Wednesday   is truly the ice on the cake for the good people of Akwa Ibom.  If anyone was in doubt of the managerial acumen of the state governor, Udom Emmanuel, that launch was enough to shut the mouths of pundits.  Truth be told, how many state governors still have the time to concentrate on governance now, not to talk of embarking on monumental projects.

    What we usually witness in Nigeria is that governance temporarily goes on recess during elections. Intrigues, backstabbing and all sorts of evils take the centre stage at the expense of quality leadership. Sadly, the country has been on this rigmarole for so long that people have accepted this unwholesome trend as a norm.

    For people like me, news of a governor still actively involved in the business of governance in spite of stories here and there about plans to turn Akwa Ibom State to another Warsaw, is quite heartwarming.  It is truly a case of everybody giving what they have. While some politicians can only spew up the dregs in their hearts, some bring out the gems in their systems, hence the relevance of a scriptural verse that says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

    Not only that, Ibom airline is born at a time when the only achievement some state governors could lay claim to is their ability to pay workers’ salaries.    Never mind such payments are often staggered and most irregular. The other time one of the governors in the North came out publicly to announce that workers should stop expecting to be paid regularly because states were not created to pay salaries only.  Such is the kind of shamelessness in some of our leaders.

    Having said this, it is important to acknowledge the foresightedness of Emmanuel and also congratulate the people of Akwa Ibom for having such an astute administrator for a governor-a governor that does not see payment of workers’ salaries as an achievement, but a necessary obligation.

    It will be recalled that salaries and gratuities of workers in the state were paid in arrears by the present administration in the state despite the fact that these salaries were owed by previous administrations. No wonder, typical Akwa Ibom indigenes won’t hesitate to tell anyone that cares to listen where their hearts are, and who gets their votes in the oncoming governorship election in the state, where Udom is seeking a reelection.  To them, they couldn’t have had it better than what have been experiencing in the last three and half years. The lines have indeed been falling on them in pleasant places.

    The industrial revolution going on in the state is unparalleled. Even Vice President Yemi Osinbajo attested to this.  He once described the syringe factory in the state as a flagship project and one that would be of benefit   to the entire country.  That testimonial coming from the opposition in Nigeria is a big deal especially when viewed from the background that all that the ruling APC could dish out to the  opposition Peoples Democratic Party since it came to power has been bashing upon bashing.

    Ibom Air is expected to employ 300 people directly while 3,000 people will be involved in its daily operations. At the launching of the aircraft at the Victor Attah International Airport  in Uyo,  Emmanuel said the airline is a monumental achievement in the state. He said the aircraft, C-FWNK, is only six years old with a sitting capacity of about 90 persons and constitutes the newest and modern fleet of the Canadian airbus. Imagine the ease that the airline will bring to doing business in Akwa Ibom. This is an oil-rich state with many attendant businesses. But sometimes, getting flight for important meetings are hindered due to hiccups often experienced in existing airlines’ operations.

    In the words of Udom, “The launching of Ibom Air is a monumental achievement in Akwa Ibom state and indeed Africa. The journey to achieve Ibom airline started in 2016 and today, it is a reality.

    “This is the only state across the country that runs and operates an international airport. We are the only state that runs a Category Two run way.

    “I want to reassure the former governor, Obong Victor Attah that very soon, the MRO will be a place that will maintain fleets of aircraft across the country.’’

    Today, Akwa Ibom is not only running a state-owned airport, it is also running an airline. So far, it is the first and only state currently doing that in Nigeria. Besides, there are assurances that the state government will also run the Ibom Air, as a profitable business. It is important to stretch the angle of profitability because that is the bane of government business in Nigeria. Many of them are run at a loss and become moribund overnight. But, it is expected that the governor based on his pedigree of managing successful business in the past will manage this well too.  The governor has said the airline will operate routes that would give preference to Akwa Ibom people, and that the government would soon launch one of the best terminal buildings in Nigeria. We can’t wait to have these promises fulfilled.

    For the past three and half years, the state government has focused on developing the state’s economy on land, air and water. So far, the state government has constructed over 160 kilometres of roads and built 12 bridges across the state among other infrastructures.

    The roads include the 19.7km Uyo-Etinan Road, 39.4km Etinan-Ndon Eyo Road, 7.3km Ebekpo-Ikot Ebidang Road, 3.5km Ikot Udom Road with 15m Span Bridge in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, 5km Ikot Usop-Ikot Edeghe-Ikot Ekpuk Road with 30m Span Bridge in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area and 5km Mkpok-Okat Road in ONNA Local  Government Area among others.

    The state government has also made significant progress at the Ibom deep seaport. According to the governor, the Ibom deep seaport will soon commence operations before the expiration of his second term in 2023.

    The establishment of the seaport will no doubt provide job opportunities for the people of the state, because anywhere you have a seaport in the world, it is capable of changing the narrative of the society because of the employment opportunity it creates. It is one of the secrets to the wealth of Dubai, contrary to the belief of many that the country is making its money from oil and tourism. The business around the seaport was used to develop the city.

    In three and half years, the  Emmanuel’s administration has developed 11,000 hectares of coconut plantation; 2,100 hectares of cassava plantation in 15 LGAs; registered 48,000 rice farmers for the CBN anchor borrowers’ scheme and trained 450 youths on cocoa maintenance. The state has gone further to establish Special Cocoa Maintenance Scheme (SCMS) to train farmers and youths on pruning/shade management, under brushing, and tree care by fumigation, in order to ensure the improved yields from 300 kg/hectare to 2, 000kg/hectare.

    In addition, the state has distributed 500,000 improved cocoa seedlings to farmers at a highly subsidised rate across the 28 cocoa producing local government areas in the state. Right  now, the state hatchery known as the Akwa Prime Hatchery hatches 10,000 day old cheeks per week. This is aside the free distribution of improved corn seedlings to farmers.

    All these are just a few of the achievements of the Udom’s administration that has continued to endear him to the heart of the Akwa Ibom people.

     

  • Udom Emmanuel’s aide abducted

    The Senior Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Udom Emmanuel, Capt Iniobong Ekong (Rtd) has been abducted.

    Ekong was said to have been picked midnight by soldiers.

    The Commissioner for Information, Akwa Ibom State who confirmed the abduction said Capt. Ekong is being held incommunicado at an unknown location in Port Harcourt.

    Read Also: Udom meets Akwa Ibom in Abuja

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Odiko McDon said the police was yet to receive such information. He however promised to make necessary contacts and swing into investigations

    Meanwhile election materials have arrived a few polling unit in Uyo, the state capital as INEC staff are seen waiting for 8am to commence accreditation of voters.

     

  • INEC supporting Emmanuel, says Akpabio

    •Senator confident of Buhari’s victory

    Senator Godswill Akpabio has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of working with Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel.

    According to him, while the commission is an independent body, some of its officials are not completely independent.

    Akpabio, who addressed reporters in Abuja, said Governor Emmanuel was working with some officials of the commission to compromise the elections, and has also deployed money to entice the people.

    He was, however, confident of President Muhammadu Buhari winning the presidential election, saying the greatest undoing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate was his promise to sell the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which, according to him, amounts to making people of the Niger Delta tenants in their own land.

    He said: “You know that INEC is an Independent body, but some of its officials are not totally independent. We have noticed some unholy alliances with the government in power in some states. For example, in Akwa Ibom, we have seen the body language of the government, which clearly shows that it will not be able to conduct credible elections, giving the parties, particularly the APC, a level playing ground.

    “APC has no intention of taking Akwa Ibom. The only intention of APC is to reflect the will of the people which today remains 80-90 per cent APC. My people are quite determined to join the centre politics; some of them, who are politicians, have been defecting and those who are not politicians are declaring their support for the APC.

    “When people are with you, you will win election, but when they are not with you, you don’t win. These are not hired crowds. People say they have doubt about Akwa Ibom will become an APC state. I can tell you that Akwa Ibom is already an APC state, just waiting for election to happen.

    “I believe strongly that the APC has done well, particularly in the last two months of campaigns. We thank God that the President was able to show not just his fitness, but his capacity and capability to continue to run the affairs of the country till 2023…”

  • Emmanuel recruits 1,000 persons to defend votes

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will recruit 1,000 men to defend its votes.

    The governor said the measure is to frustrate plans by the opposition to rig the elections.

    Emmanuel, who spoke during yesterday’s rally at Onna Sports Stadium to mark the end of the campaigns round the 31 councils, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has adopted sinister plots to weaken the PDP but failed.

    He hailed PDP youths who have embraced the peaceful disposition of his administration and worked to maintain peace throughout the electioneering, even in the face of provocation.

    Read also: Govt accuses PDP of planning to scuttle poll

    He said: “PDP is unstoppable. There is no way we would not win; we have gone round the whole Akwa Ibom. PDP is like a religion here.

    “They planned evil, God did not allow it to happen, God has disappointed, and will continue to disappoint them. We started in peace and ended in peace and success. Akwa Ibom is 100 per cent PDP and 100 per cent we shall win.”

     

  • I am ready to pay N30,000 minimum wage – Gov. Emmanuel

    The Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has said paying the new minimum wage in the state is not a problem.

    Speaking on Monday in Uyo during consultation with the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, United Labour and other affiliated unions said the state government is only waiting on the Federal government to decide on the new minimum wage so that it can implement in the state.

    He said labour is the bedrock of development in any nation and commended the unions for their support so far, adding that he has fulfilled his promises to the unions.

    He stated that even when allocations from the Federal government was still pending, he sourced for money to make sure salaries were paid.

    “Labour is the key to development. You cannot relegate labour to the background.

    “Minimum wage has never been an issue, it is just that it has been a matter of legislation. We are waiting for directions from the Federal government, once the direction is given, we will pay.

    “In the face of circumstances and what we face in this country, I have done my best to make sure that workers do not suffer. I pay salaries in circumstances that I do not receive allocation. You did not elect me to make excuses but to find solution to problems.

    “I have demonstrated capacity yesterday and can look into the future. I am here today because you people have strengthened me to be here and made it possible for me to be here, and we can talk and negotiate. I thank labour for the fantastic relationship between the labour and us.

    Read Also: Emmanuel calls for redeployment of CP

    “The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has the best blueprint for workers in the country. We need your support in the usual manner to support us in the coming election. Today is the day for consultation. I want to thank God for the leadership of the labour and for this state. It is not in every state that labour sits like this with the governor,” he said.

    Earlier, the Nigeria Labour Congress State Chairman, Comrade Etim Ukpong said labour is  a very economicially and socially variable group, adding that he was happy the governor knows the labour has given him support.

    He said the workers are appreciative of what the governor and was he has done, and hope that he would fulfill all outstanding promises to them.

    “Over three and a half years, there had been no labour restiveness in Akwa Ibom State because you are working with people who can manage the situation.

    “Your coming gives us the satisfaction that we are working with somebody who understand the meaning of labour union. We welcome you here, you saw how the labour leaders welcomed you.

    “They appreciate you and what your government has spent during the period as governor, and as you are leaving this place, you will address what the people what to hear. Our workers want to see the consultation in action” he stated.

     

  • Akwa Ibom to establish an airline company

    The Akwa Ibom State Government says it plans to establish an airline company to ensure maximum utilization of its modern airport.

    Governor Udom Emmanuel said this in his speech at a solemn assembly to usher in the New Year in Uyo on Wednesday.

    Emmanuel said government would bring joy to the people of the state in 2019, adding that the state would blaze the trail as the only state in the country to wholly owned and run an airline.

    “We promised you improved electricity and you all witnessed that our electricity has improved significantly , we promised our youths, women and our elders, traders empowerment, we have done just that,’’ he said.

    He said since his assumption of office in 2015, he has not disappointed the people saying that that explain why the state is attracting investors and enjoying peace and progress.

    Read Also: Revamping Akwa Ibom economy

    “That is the reason we are able to embark on numerous capital projects when others can’t even pay salaries of their workers, the reason why we are expanding and consolidating our infrastructure amenities such as the construction and commissioning or ongoing works of over 1700 kilometers of roads,” Emmanuel said.

    He also said government has remodeled health facilities in Etinan, Ikot Okoro, Ituk Mbang, Iquita, Ikono, Emmanuel Hospital and Eket adding that he came as a governor to serve the people.

    “The resource available to our people has been used to take care of our people. As they say, a good job executed demands more job to be done. That is what I am committed to doing when you return me to the hilltop mansion,’’ he said.

    He urged the people to participate fully in the forthcoming general election and not to give in to lies by the opposition in the state.

    NAN

  • Allow EFCC to do its work – Eyiboh tells A’Ibom govt

    Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress Campaign Organization in Akwa Ibom, Mr. Eseme Eyiboh has asked Governor Udom Emmanuel to allow the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) to its work of fighting corruption.
    Reacting to the press statement issued by the Akwa Ibom State, through the Hon. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh on Thursday, Eyiboh described the state government’s cry that it was been witch hunted as ” playing the ostrich “.
    He said it was preposterous for the state  government through its statement to accuse the anti graft agency of  “perpetuating illegalities against the Government and the good people of Akwa Ibom”.
    “The release is one of those empty Statements on the current corruption charge against government officials and cronies, through which Akwa Ibom funds are corruptly taken away from the people.
    “The government has continued to live in denial of the serial malfeasance that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been unraveling in the past three years of  Udom Emmanuel administration.
    “The cry of witch-hunt and such other familiar cover-up lamentations do not answer the fundamental question of why, for instance, Udom Emmanuel’s legal fees as a governorship candidate should be paid from public coffers”, Eyiboh stated.
     He queried why huge sums are paid out to private lawyers when the state ministry of justice is populated by experienced, well trained, but poorly motivated staffers.
    “It is in the best interest of the state and for the sake of accountability to allow the EFCC do its statutory duties of checkmating corruption.

    Read Also: EFCC charges NBA President Usoro with N1.4b fraud

    “If the government of Deacon Udom Emmanuel is sure that the officials are not corrupt, why do they keep blocking the anti-graft agency? The truth is that Gov. Emmanuel runs the most diseased, inept and opaque government in modern Nigeria.
    “It is futile to keep running from pillar to post, from one court to another to hide from the corruption that has always been there in the full glare of the Akwa Ibom people. If you are not hiding anything, make your officials available for investigation”, the statement read in part.
    On behalf of the APC campaign organization, Eyiboh said, ” We appeal to the EFCC not to be deterred by the resort to playing the victim’s card and baseless allegations of political motivation.
    “Akwa Ibom State, whose social services, health and educational institutions and have continued to decay as a result of poverty of the philosophy of statutory governance, often blamed on paucity of fund deserves the best.
    ” Any excuse to the contrary can only fly in the face of crippling corruption, such as the illegal withdrawal of billions paid into private coffers”.

  • ‘Emmanuel responsible for Akwa Ibom crisis’

    The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State says the decision of Speaker Onofiok Luke to declare vacant the seats of the APC lawmakers, which had the backing of Governor Udom Emmanuel, sparked off the House of Assembly crisis.

    As the leading political party in Akwa Ibom State, we are shocked, embarrassed and petrified by the crisis that has engulfed our State House of Assembly in the last one week, and from all our investigations, we wish to state categorically that Gov. Udom Emmanuel is solely responsible for this crisis and so he should bear full responsibility for it. This problem and the manner in which Mr Udom Emmanuel has managed it have once again underscored our repeated warnings that our governor is not only incompetent in executing the office of the governor, but lacks the temperament and maturity to hold the exalted office. He is irascible, petty, small-minded, intolerant and arrogant, and so the governor’s strings of political difficulties are largely self-afflicted and will likely consume him in the weeks ahead.

     

    Genesis of the crisis

    On Monday last week (Nov 19), Mr Onofiok Luke, the then Speaker of the House of Assembly, declared the seats of five APC members of the House vacant on the excuse that they had decamped from the PDP, despite the fact that the five members had either obtained a court injunction against the Speaker as in the case of Hon. Nse Ntuen, or had instituted a court action against the Speaker in order to preempt such action by the Speaker. But as we are reliably informed the former Speaker’s went ahead to declare their seats vacant because of immense pressure from the governor who had vowed that the five members would never return to the House for their temerity to defect from the PDP.

    It was for this reason that the Governor stormed the House of Assembly in the morning of Tuesday, 27th November, accompanied by a large crowd of thugs, some policemen, officials of the DSS and some of his Commissioners and other government officials. In the Assembly, the five APC lawmakers were beaten up by the Governor’s thugs, obviously on the orders to the governor. To the horror of onlookers, the accompanying security officials did not come to the rescue of the pummeled APC legislators. At least one of them, Mr Ntuen, has been hospitalised for his injuries sustained at the hand of these cultists.

    As if all these were not enough and to add salt to injury, Udom Emmanuel returned to Government House and addressed a press conference. Flanked by his Commissioners and PDP Chieftains, Udom Emmanuel shamelessly lied against the Police authorities, the APC lawmakers and some leaders of our Party, notably Senator Godswill Akpabio. The Press Conference was repeatedly showed on AIT this evening as a sponsored programme. He made the following false allegations:

    1. The new Commissioner of Police in the state is partisan and had helped the APC law makers gain access into the premises of the Assembly.
    2. The new CP should be removed from office
    3. The crisis is orchestrated by our Party as a prelude to, or excuse for, postponing of the Governorship Election in the State
    4. Senator Akpabio and other APC leaders are behind the crisis
    5. Senator Akpabio has no known address since left office as governor in 2015
    6. President Buhari should intervene in the crisis

     Read also: OBJ’s visit: Udom Emmanuel’s swansong 

    Our take and observations

    Watching the Governor on TV this evening, we note that Mr Udom Emmanuel appeared glazed and sounded uncoordinated, inebriated and disjointed. We are convinced that Mr Udom Emmanuel is no longer of sound mind and good mental health.

    We note also that in many Houses of Assembly across the federation, and indeed in both the Senate and House of Representatives, there have been many cross defections across party lines in the last several months. It is only in Akwa Ibom House of Assembly that the Speaker, goaded and pressured by the governor, has been intolerant and immature enough to declare seats vacant. An Ibibio proverb says: He who takes ants-infested firewood into his home should be ready to receive lizards. The former Speaker and his governor should be ready to solve this problem they brought upon themselves, or they would bear full consequences. Last year, the only APC member in the our House of Assembly elected on the platform of our Party, Hon. Asukwo Archibong, had defected to the PDP. Mr Onofiok Luke did not declare his seat vacant. The Governor was happy about it. As a Party, we handled the loss of the only lawmaker with calmness and fortitude. But this year, in an uncanny reversal of fortune, five PDP members have moved into our Party, Udom Emmanuel and his Stooge, Onofiok Luke, are too bigoted to bear the humiliation! How can the duo expect peace with such a level of injustice, impunity and double standards?

     

    Our conclusion and prayers

    1. We express absolute confidence in the new Commissioner of Police who arrived the State only a few days ago on his new posting. We ask him to perform his duties creditably well no matter the inducement and intimidation from Udom Emmanuel.
    2. It is only the Inspector General of Police that can deploy the Commissioner of Police, and so the call by Udom Emmanuel for the transfer of the new CP is a misplaced flippancy and abuse of office and privilege
    3. Since Udom Emmanuel instigated this crisis by pressuring Mr Onofiok Luke to declare the seats of the APC legislators vacant, both of them should solve the problems. Calling on the President to intervene in the crisis they created is childish and amateurish.
    4. Senator Godswill Akpabio has no hand in this crisis; and so the governor’s resort to heaping insults and abuse on him is amounts to creating distraction. Since Senator Akpabio left the PDP in August, our governor has been so psychologically deflated that he blames the distinguished senator for all his afflictions, including his family problems!
    5. Should the governor fail to address this problem, we call on the President to declare a State of Emergency in Akwa Ibom state and subsequently remove Udom Emmanuel from Office. Udom Emmanuel has not only flouted the law and breached the principle of separation of powers by invading the House of Assembly with murderous gang of thugs, the governor himself appears to be too unwell to occupy the exalted office.