The special adviser to the Senate president on media and publicity, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh, on Sunday, August 4, denied that Senator Godswill Akpabio made a derogatory statement against protesters against hunger and bad governance in parts of the country.
The social media had been awash with a viral video where Akpabio had alleged said that the “youths can protest, while we will be here eating” during a programme organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt last week before the commencement of the August 1 protests.
However, Eyiboh who was answering questions from Dr Reuben Abati on the ARISETV programme “THIS DAY” on Sunday, said the statement was allegedly made by the Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, during a programme organised by the commission.
When asked by Abati if Akpabio said the words in the video, Eyiboh said they were not the words of the Senate president but that he only repeated what the NDDC’s MD said, adding that that circulating statement was driven by malice and hate.
Eyiboh said: “What I am trying to say is that whoever sent a text to you or sent a message to you, of course, it is intentioned by malice and hate.
“I am saying that it is the Managing Director of NDDC who made a statement, that statement if you go to the NDDC website you will see it. Anywhere you go, we have also made efforts to popularize it so that we will know where the fact lies.
“All the Senate President said and did was ‘thank you very much, Mr MD, for making that statement’, and he went ahead to thank the Niger Delta people and said they should not go on protest by the should own the government because the benefits of this government to Niger Delta is tremendous and enormous.
“What about the East-West road, the uncompleted? Money has been released for it. What about the Coastal road? They have signed in to it and the commencement of the construction will simultaneously start from Lagos and of course, Akwa Ibom at both ends. And that is an impact on a region that has been suffering from all manners of economic underdevelopment. So, they should be happy.
“That is not a region you expect them to go on protest. It has nothing to do with Godswill Akpabio. It has something to do with the collective will of the people. What are the urges of the South-South people? What Akpabio only did to go there was to galvanize the goodwill of his people because he is being loved everywhere across the country.
“The insignificant percentage who are committed to saying what he didn’t say on social media are doing it out of malice. The people love Godswill Akpabio. He is a leader with responsibility.
“He is very proactive, he is very humble, he is decorous in heart and hand. Such a leader should be appreciated and I stand to be corrected.”
