The immediate past Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Sunday raised the alarm over plots to discredit him and the monumental achievements of his administration through spurious and baseless petitions to anti-graft agencies and circulated in the social media.
The plots, which intelligence reports said are multi-faceted, are primed to scandalize the former governor through frivolous accusations, thereby instigating the Nigerian public against him.
A former Commissioner for Information in the Akpabio administration, Aniekan Umanah, disclosed that information reaching him showed that the desperate people who are behind the anti-Akpabio and anti-Governor Emmanuel Udom project, are already spreading spurious allegations of unfathomable acquisitions while in office.
Umanah said: “The immediate past administration of Chief Godswill Akpabio also has nothing to hide.
“Information at our disposal showed that these desperate elements whose identities we know, were being sponsored by certain sore losers with their selfish motives.
“We also gathered that fake petitions containing spurious allegations are being sent to anti-corruption agencies to probe the last administration. We welcome this development since we have nothing to hide. But we are challenging these dodgy characters to be truthful enough to tell the said anti-corruption agencies their hidden agenda which is well known to us.
“At the appropriate time, we will expose these scheming characters and their sponsors. Another of their plan is to engage in massive negative media against Akpabio and the incumbent Governor , with the intent to weaken and distract the current administration in the state. We can confirm that huge war-chest has been assigned to this project.
“If these people love the state so much as they claim, why can’t they channel the money being set aside to create crisis in the state, into more productive venture like creating more jobs for our teeming youths, thousands of who, were employed by the Akpabio administration, with this administration also planning to engage several thousands in productive engagements.
“We are bringing this into public domain not because we are afraid of whatever steps being taken by these unpatriotic elements, but for the good people of Akwa-Ibom and Nigerians to know who to hold responsible in an event of a crisis in the state.”
The statement further hinted that the current administration would remain focussed and not be distracted, while expressing confidence that the place of Governor Akpabio in history of purposeful governance was already assured by posterity and no amount of blackmail would rubbish it.
It added that even in the heat of campaign in the last general elections, one area that the opposition could not fault Akpabio and his team was quality delivery of dividends of democracy.
The statement added: “It was not a government on paper or of abstract performance. Akwa-Ibomites could see what Akpabio spent their money on. Nigerians could also see. Even the whole world applauded it.”
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