2019: APC, PDP In Akwa Ibom Exchange Words Over Each Other’s Administration

APC vs PDP ( Photo File)

Akwa-Ibom APC And PDP Plague Each Other’s Administration

The All Progressive Congress, (APC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party,(PDP) are again at logger heads in Akwa Ibom.

The PDP holds the levers of governance in Akwa Ibom state, while the  APC holds power at the federal level.

The APC spokes person had listed some accusations against the PDP led administrations, while PDP spokes person has deferred, saying that APC is seeking attention.

Recently the publicity secretary of APC in the state, Edet Bassey alleged that “the PDP administration in the state has been running on lies and propaganda”, adding that “the so-called industrialisation policy is founded on deceit”.

In an interview in Uyo, the state capital, on Monday, Edet accused the Akwa Ibom government of lacking in transparency, due diligence and openness in its approach to governance.

The APC spokesperson challenged Governor Udom Emmanuel to properly account for the several billions of naira the state had been receiving as the number one revenue earner from the Federation Account every other month.

“In the first quarter of 2018, the state government received N50 billion, which is more than what the entire South Eastern Nigeria got within the same period,” he said.

He claimed that the huge cash receipt had not reflected the reality on the ground as painted by the administration, adding: “The welfare, health and educational index of the people could not reflex the enormous revenue in-flows from the Federation Account in the last couple of years.”

He further alleged that “some of the so-called industries, including the syringe, toothpick, pencil, fertiliser and electric meter plants, are mere packaging or assembly warehouses where finished goods are repackaged.”

The APC scribe, therefore, challenged the state government to make public all the contractual agreements, including Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the state reached with the foreign partners, “for the purposes of transparency and due process”.

Reacting to the allegations raised by the APC, Charles Udoh, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, dismissed the allegations as unfounded, mischievous and blackmail, explaining that the state government under Emmanuel had nothing to hide.

He added that the administration of Governor Emmanuel had continually demonstrated transparency, due diligence, accountability and integrity, the information commissioner therefore urged the people to discountenance the allegations, as “they were made out of ignorance”.

He disclosed that while the state government would not be publishing the state’s account books on the pages of newspapers, details of government income and expenditures could be located on the state government’s annual audit financial statement.

“Do you know that Akwa Ibom State government publishes its annual audit financial statement? This act is a clear sign of a governor that is committed to transparency, accountability and integrity.” he said

He noted that the achievements of Gov. Udom, especially in the area of financial transparency, was unprecedented in Nigeria.

In the same vein, Iniobong Ememobong, PDP publicity secretary, urged the people to disregard such “attention-seeking allegations by the APC”, adding that “there is absolutely no truth in the entire fabrication. The APC publicity secretary is learning on the job and is obviously seeking some financial support from his party.”