LEADERS, stakeholders and elders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State have described the avalanche of advertorials in major newspapers on the invasion of government house by officials of Directorate of State Security (DSS) as a distraction and an attempt by the state government to impede investigation.
They further accused governor Udom Emmanuel of double standard as he described his initial response to the issue as a storm in a teacup, wondering why the same governor should be sponsoring press conferences and advertorials on the same matter.
Speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, Mr. Ita Awak wondered why it took the state governor six days to react to the issue, while governors Ayo Fayose and
Olusegun Mimiko of Ekiti and Ondo states respectively reacted on the development less than 24 hours when the incident occurred.
According to him, the action by the state government was a serious ploy to whip up unnecessary sentiments and to curry political support from people on what was clearly a security issue.
“In all these, Mr. Udom Emmanuel remained unseen and unheard until six days after when he told journalists at the Akwa Ibom airport on his arrival from Abuja that the people should remain calm because the matter which is just a storm in a tea cup is before the President.
“Even as Udom has asked people to remain calm, he has been surreptitiously orchestrating and funding all manner of press conferences and advertorials in national newspapers aimed at blackmailing, embarrassing and ridiculing both the DSS and the Federal Government.
“We strongly condemn the initial ambivalence of the Akwa Ibom state government in dealing with this incident and the governor’s clandestine efforts in whipping up sentiments and emotions to curry political support from our people in what is clearly a security issue,” he said.
Putting house in the Presidential Lodge; adding that governor Udom, since May 29th 2015, has not moved into his official residence, the Hilltop Mansion.
“Contrary to wrong impression deliberately created by the PDP, the fact of the matter is that, the DSS officials only visited the Presidential Lodge in Uyo, one of the several guest houses owned by the Akwa Ibom State government. We should state that, at no time throughout the operation did the DSS officials visit the official residence of the governor or his official office or Mr. Udom’s private residence.