The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Aniekan Umanah, has described as spurious and childish, allegations raised by the former ACN gubernatorial candidate, Senator John Akpanudoedeghe, against the administration of Governor Godswill Akpabio.
Aniekan said Akpanudoedeghe’s allegation is the “lamentation of a failed politician who had long lost touch with happenings in the state”.
Umanah, who was reacting to Udoedeghe’s outburst on a radio programme hinted that “the commencement of political activities towards the 2015 general elections, marks the return of political blackmailers whose stock in trade is to bandy falsehood and verbal attacks against the state government and perceived political opponents.”
The Commissioner wondered why Udoedeghe, with a sorry profile of a disgraced local government chairman, an unproductive stint at the Senate, a wasted brief sojourn at the federal executive council and a failed bid to become the governor of the state, would not face his checkered political history and leave Governor Akpabio alone.
Umanah maintained that after his monumental disappointing stints at several positions of authority, it is not surprising that Udoedeghe’s people have lost faith and confidence in him for wasting their time and opportunities.
“For a man who was defeated by a wide margin of almost a million votes and serial judicial confirmations, to turn around and claim that he won the 2011 governorship election, opens a chapter in the study of senility and portrays him as a man in need of psychological examination.”
While describing the media outburst as Udoedeghe’s stock in trade, Umanah wondered why such a supposedly highly placed citizen, could try to deceive the public by misrepresenting revenues accruing to the State from the federation account.
He maintained that the Governor had no regret for investing in numerous live-changing projects, which Udoedeghe himself acknowledged, as reported in one of the tabloids, and reiterated that the era of sharing the State’s revenue among few powerful individuals was over.
The Commissioner described as careless and libelous, Udoedeghe’s frequent allusion to unconfirmed figures in his interviews, and dared the former Minister of State for the FCT to provide facts to back up his claims rather than empty media ranting.
On the empowerment of the people and development of the State, Umanah explained that Akpabio has meticulously complied with the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, through his various agricultural development and youth /women empowerment programs, education, healthcare and sanitation, among others, and challenged Udoedehe to enlighten the populace on what he has ever done for the people throughout his years of sojourn in public offices.
The commissioner who described Udoedeghe as a merchant of gangsterism, said people of Akwa Ibom would not forget in a hurry, the mayhem he brought upon them in March 2011, relics of the which he noted, remained in the destroyed 500 brand new taxis and tricycles, at the State Secretariat, meant to empower the people by the purposeful leadership of Akpabio.