By Theophilus Ilevbare
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Godswill
Akpabio
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It is as reckless as it is feckless for Governor Godswill Akpabio
to fritter away with zing the patrimony of Akwa Ibom State on his political
associates, friends and sycophants in a showy and
flamboyant manner to massage an over bloated political ego. It is the height of profligacy.
The latest gaffe of the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum
has seen him enmeshed in yet another round of controversy. He confessed on
camera that he manipulated the election result of the 2007 PDP senatorial
primary election in the state by single-handedly replacing the winner with the name
of his preferred candidate. The video has since gone viral on the internet.
This is coming on the heels of the recent wave of criticism
that has greeted his financial recklessness, making more headlines than his
role as chief servant of the people of Akwa Ibom State. Just when folks where torn
in two minds if the spendthrift governor was doling out private or state money,
at a press conference recently, he erased any doubt as he owned up that his
string of father Christmas donations have been from government coffers.
"Anything connected with my donation is captured within
the law of the State.” Struggling to
sound convincing, “The budget is the law and there have been provisions that
allow for grants for donations and for hospitality as enshrined within the
budget."
As the custodian of the state
treasury, one begins to wonder what constitute donations for hospitality to Mr.
Akpabio. Is it hospitality to splash N230m of state
funds as donation on behalf of the PDP Governors’ Forum, for the erection of an
Anglican Church in Otuoke, the home town of President Jonathan?
For him to be
subsequently berated by other PDP governors who said they were not carried
along before the donation was made is a pointer to where the millions were
drawn. That
provisions were made in the law for donations and hospitality should not be an
excuse for such jamboree. The constitution
certainly does not empower the governor to frivol the commonwealth of Akwa Ibom State at will.
What better use should such grants be put if roads
in Akwa Ibom, like the Eket–Ibeno road leading to the venue of Tuface Idibia
and Annie Macaulay’s traditional wedding ceremony, was in deplorable condition.
The governor had to apologise to guests at the event that when next they come
visiting the road would have been rehabilitated. It is noteworthy, that youths of
Eket sometime ago protested that the road be reconstructed.
The rudderless governor scandalized many, when he gifted the couple
with two Toyota Prado SUVs, though the state government later issued a statement, claiming
it was one.
To underscore his infamy, he made a pledge to bankroll an all expenses paid
trip for 20 delegates from the state who wished to attend the nuptial of the
Idibias in far away Dubai.
The reveler that he is, present at a lavish
party organised in honour of the couple, again, gifted the newlywed with N3m. He has since taken
financial recklessness and extravagance with the people’s resources to an
obscene level.
To Mr.
Akpabio’s defence was his Commissioner
for Information, Aniekan Umana, spewing inanities like his spendthrift boss: “Looking
carefully at the surrounding events in perspective, Mrs. Annie Idibia, nee
Macaulay, is a daughter of Akwa Ibom State and the gift of a Prado SUV from her
governor is only a gesture of love and goodwill.
"Her resolve to
stand by her husband on this journey right from his days of youthful beginnings
to stardom even in the face of challenges was commendable and a true attribute
of the Akwa Ibom women.”
From Umana’s
perspective, governor Akpabio might now have to donate a Prado Jeep to every
Akwa Ibom daughter who decides to put up with the escapades of her boyfriend or
fiancée to justify Annie’s gift. Publicity Secretary, Oscar Onwudiwe of the
South-South Professionals of Nigeria (SESSPN) rightly queried the rationale of
the Commissioner when he said, “Will such largesse be extended to every newly-wed
couple in the state and will that pass as the mean test for judicious
management of limited resources?”
He further warned that, “The frugal
management of state resources are indispensable values necessary for the
actualisation of our development plan, so we appeal to the state governors not
to trifle with these essential requirements”.
The PDP will have
us believe that the chairman of its Governors’ Forum is being magnanimous,
which they believe is a virtue. Truly, this is the kind of virtue that has
existed at all levels of the party typified in the present Nigeria with all the
symptoms of a failed state.
At every event Akpabio
is present, he sees a window for frivolous gifting. Last year, the profligate
governor gave a cash gift of N10m for a return leg win against Mali by the national
Under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, in an African Under-17 Championship qualifier
in Calabar. Just for a win.
Nollywood were
not left out behind as Mr. Akpabio instituted a N50 million endowment fund to honour
exceptional actors and actresses in the industry.
The
ungodly display of reckless wastefulness by Akwa Ibom State spender-in-chief,
took a ridiculous twist at the South-South PDP reconciliation meeting in Port Harcourt where he
embarrassed six state chairmen of the party with N6m for Mr. Biggs (for lunch),
after describing them as “hungry.”
“My brother
(Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan) said you people (PDP South-South
members) are hungry, to take care of your hunger, I’m donating the sum of N1m
each to the South-South secretariat of PDP and I would want each of the
chairmen to come and collect the sum at the end of my speech so that members
could use that to buy (lunch) at Mr. Biggs!” Governor Akpabio said, descending from
the absurd to the jejune. It was a bovine display of financial rascality. Expectedly,
Uduaghan,
Amaechi and other PDP chieftains walked out on him while he was still speaking.
Recently, he took delivery, of two exotic
bullet-proof sprinter luxury vans from US-based Texas Armoring Corporation
(TAC) customized to his specifications, at about N300 million. Why
should he feel so insecure among his kinsmen contrasting a reputation he projects
with numerous ads on TV and papers showcasing his “excellent performance” in
office, claiming Akwa Ibomites love him to pieces. The prodigal PDP
Governors’ Forum Chairman, has since joined the elite league of private jet
flying governors with his top of the range, $45 million Bombardier Global Jet.
His much publicised achievement
is lightweight when compared with its monthly allocation, which is more than
four times what some other states get from the federal allocation. This is aside
internally generated revenue. In spite of this, salaries of civil servants in
the state are often owed. Same goes for pensioners. The state has one of the country’s
highest rate of unemployment, the reason its indigenes are scattered across the
country settling for menial jobs. Key
sectors of the economy are below par with what is obtainable in states without
the oil revenue Akwa Ibom attracts.
Governor Akpabio
must retrace his steps. It calls for serious concern from those connected to
the state. It becomes more worrisome when the state house of assembly look the
other way. The EFCC can’t come within touching distance of the governor either so
long as he continues to harp President Jonathan’s 2015 ambition from the roof
top.
The onus is now on the people of the state to call governor Akpabio to
order.
theophilus@ilevbare.com
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