You Are Responsible For A’ibom Assembly Crises, Akpabio Hits Back At Udom

[Edoman]

Godswill Akpabio, Senator representing Akwa Ibom North West at the Senate, has rejected claims that he is responsible for the crisis bedeviling the State.

POLITICS TIMES had reported how Mr Akpabio, a former governor of the state, was accused by his successor and incumbent governor, Udom Emmanuel, of masterminding the fracas going on at the state House of Assembly.

The former governor until months back when he defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC), was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

While at the PDP, he was appointed commissioner, thereafter elected governor who served out his two term and headed for the Senate still on the party’s platform.

Accusing his predecessor, Mr Emmanuel said Akpabio and his party were out to disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the state since he took over.

Messrs Emmanuel and Akpabio fell out politically after the former took over as governor.

“The mastermind of this crises include, people that this state gave the opportunity to become what they never dreamt they could become,” Emmanuel said during a press conference on Tuesday.

“People that other people gave the opportunity to become a commissioner for 6 years & a Governor for 8 years making it 14 years,” he added.

The governor while calling for the removal of the new Police Commissioner in the state, said the Police who are supposed to be apolitical in the country now belonged to the ruling APC.

READ ALSO: Akpabio Responsible For Akwa Ibom Crises - Udom

Refuting the allegation in a statement issued on his behalf by his special assistant on media, Aneite Ekong, the former governor said the “brazen act of lawlessness by the Governor is responsible for the crisis.”

“Ordinarily, the Distinguished Senator wouldn’t have bothered to respond to the spurious allegation because it is contrived to malign his integrity and stands logic on its head. However, it follows a clear pattern of crying wolf by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the Senator, who was the live wire of the party in the State left the party to join the All Progressives Congress (APC.) The strategy by the PDP and its chieftains is that anything and everything must be pinned on Senator Akpabio,” Mr Ekong said in the statement.

“In his desperation to shop for who to blame and pass the buck, Governor Udom Emmanuel has blamed the security agencies in the State and Senator Akpabio has only become his latest victim. How can a state Governor accuse Senator Akpabio of being the brain behind the crisis, and at the same time declared that “the police should be held responsible for any breakdown of law and order in the state and not any other person.” Does it add up?

“It beats the imagination of right thinking individuals that a Governor could spew outright lies and falsehood in the face of the crisis in which he is a major sponsor. It is on record that the Governor personally led his security aides and thugs to the House of Assembly and supervised the manhandling of some members of the House of Assembly who were performing their constitutional duties.

“The brazen act of lawlessness by the Governor is responsible for the crisis. In justifying this meddlesomeness and interference in the functions of a separate arm of government, the Commissioner for Information of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Charles Udoh said he went to the House of Assembly as the Chief Security Officer of the State!

“It is instructive that Senator Akpabio was never at the scene of the fracas neither has anyone any evidence of his involvement, except the oft repeated strategy of blaming anything that is wrong in the State on Senator Akpabio.

“Akwa Ibom people have a right to determine who leads them. The choice will be based on performance and not on sentiments.

“We advice Governor Emmanuel to brace up and face the challenges of his office, instead of looking for who to blame for his lacklustre performance in the last three and half years which have made Akwa Ibom people determined to democratically vote him and his party out in the election next year,” the statement added.

Source: https://politicstimesng.com/amp/you-resp...abio-udom/

[Edoman]

Akpabio Responsible For Akwa Ibom Crises – Udom


Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom State, has accused his predecessor, Godswill Akpabio, of being among the mastermind of the crises recently witnessed in the State.

Mr Emmanuel made the accusation after disrupting alleged moves by some lawmakers of the state who belonged to the All Progressive Congress (APC) to impeach him.

The position of the governor confirms an earlier position held by a young lawyer from the state wherein the legal practitioner noted that the recent development at the State House of Assembly was in the interest of the people.

Trouble started last week when Onofiok Luke, Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly (AKHA) declared the seats of some legislators vacant while banking on a court order from a High Court in the State.

The declaration led to a protest by alleged supporters of the APC lawmakers who were barred from the assembly complex while an appeal of the judgment had been filed at the Court of Appeal.

When the speaker and his colleagues left the chamber, the sacked lawmakers numbering about five who belonged to the APC gained access into the assembly complex and declared Mr Luke impeached.

To curtail further attacks, the Commissioner of Police in the State was removed and replaced with security operatives sealing off the complex.

On Tuesday a new twist was added to it when the APC lawmakers reportedly gained access to the assembly chamber and were said to have commenced the process of impeaching the governor.

On noticing the alleged moves to oust him, Emmanuel who led the speaker and some of their PDP supporters stormed the legislative arm of government and chased away the impeachment planners who took to their heels on sighting the crowd approaching them.

Accusing his predecessor of spearheading the plot, the governor said the planners were out to disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the state since he took over.

Although no name was mentioned, POLITICS TIMES can authoritatively report that Emmanuel was referring to Akpabio.

Messrs Emmanuel and Akpabio fell out politically after the former took over as governor. Akpabio who is now a Senator at the Senate dumped the PDP for the APC months ago.

The lawmaker served as Commissioner before becoming the State governor, all under the platform of the PDP.

He was elected Senator on the same platform before he decamped to the ruling party.

“The mastermind of this crises include, people that this state gave the opportunity to become what they never dreamt they could become,” Emmanuel said during a press conference.

“People that other people gave the opportunity to become a commissioner for 6 years & a Governor for 8 years making it 14 years,” he added.

The governor who said the Police who are supposed to be apolitical in the country now belonged to the ruling party.

“This is the first time where the entire Police structure belongs to a Political Party, but since we don’t have the police, we don’t have anything apart from God and Our People.

“Akwa Ibom is the most peaceful state in our country, Nigeria. We maintain all oil installations so that money could be gotten out of here and be sent to Abuja for peace to be maintained,” the governor added.

Source: https://politicstimesng.com/amp/akpabio-...ises-udom/