The Akwa Ubok Abasi Campaign Organisation, the political structure of Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, CON, has decried the increasing state of insecurity and threat to peace worsening the already deplorable economic and social lives of the masses in Akwa Ibom state.
In a Press Statement entitled: “Insecurity At Its Peak In Akwa Ibom State: Do We Still Have A Government?” and signed by Dr Usoro I. Usoro, its Director of Communications, the body described the reported cult clash at Ibom Plaza on Dec 13, 2022 as
“quite disheartening”.
It berated Udom Emmanuel’s government, “whose only acclaimed achievement in almost eight is ‘maintaining peace’ yet neither protects nor secures the lives of the already economically emasculated, impoverished, tramatised and socially imprisoned because bad governance”.
Parts of the statement read: “Despite the empty boasts of providing peace for the people of Akwa Ibom State, Udom has a very long way to go as far as Security of the State is concern, as he has mistaken the silence of the graveyard to mean peace. Otherwise, how can he account for the politically motivated killings, inexplicable clashes in several local governments, which the government agents have done such to suppress reportage; kidnappings, etc? For instance, very recently in Oruk Anam LGA, the wife of a retired Permanent Secretary in the State Civil Service, Mrs Idungafa, reportedly narrowly escaped kidnapping in Ekparakwa axis of of the local government. There are other reported cases of infractions in Oku Iboku, Uruan, etc and many more accross the state”.
“On Tuesday, December 13,2022, the popular Ibom Plaza area of the State turned to a war zone when two cult groups reportedly had a duel which reportedly started from a disagreement over sharing of government /PDP booty!”
“Sadly, the clash, which lasted for hours, did not only affect innocent members of the public who ran helter-skelter for their lives, their goods were scattered everywhere, while some lives were reportedly lost. The whole of Ikot Ekpene Road, Ikpa Road and some parts of Oron Road had palpable tension many families lost valuables,many shops robbed in a state that peace and security are used as a mantra for deception”.
“This kind of unrest and security challenges should be expected where there is complete neglect of social welfare; high unemployment; insensitive to the plights of the masses; lack of accountability in government; poor economic management with the state consistently trailing at the bottom of global ratings; etc”.
The statement further wondered how a government “that has failed to create jobs for the teeming youths can be claiming peace, when clear indices that contribute to peace and security are missing? Yet, the same government is busy spending the state resources, including our 13% derivation arrears refund, struggling to install a stooge who knows nothing about governance and boasts of being ‘the least qualified’?”
It added that: “The present Administration has no good plan for the youths of the state and no meaningful or well thought-out plan to engage the youths meaningfully. If the current governor, who hardly spends a night in Uyo but frolics across the nation in luxury at the expense of the masses does not care, is it his “least qualified” stooge that will?”
“It is in the interest of our dear state for our people to collectively reject this maladministration and its continuity in the guise of a stooge, who knows nothing about governance. We need a man who will consciously bring an end to insecurity with the right engagement of youths in skills and manpower as well as other human capacity developments. We need one with the wealth of experience, a man who knows how to also deliberately but positively position the youths through educational sponsorships, payment of bursaries, etc, to help curb youth restiveness. The man who has done it for years now, is Senator Bassey Albert Akpan (OBA), CON. Akwa ibom deserves the best come 2023!”, it submitted.
