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Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday boasted that Akwa Ibom never experienced real development until when he became the governor of the state in 2007.
He said that though Akwa Ibom bears the appellation “Land of Promise,” successive governments never fulfilled such promises until his stint as governor, adding that he came and blazed the trail of development before others followed.
The Senate President spoke in Eket Local Government while addressing a Stakeholders’ Engagement meeting.
“They call Akwa Ibom ‘Land of Promise’, but before 2007, how many people felt the promise? How many people have ever experienced the promise? When I became the governor, did the people of Ibeno not know they could have a hospital? Did the people of Eastern Obolo know they could have a hospital? When I became the governor, did the people of Esit-Eket see the Gas Processing Plant with their children working in it?” Akpabio asked his audience.
He recalled further that he started the process of dualising roads in the state and introduced the free and compulsory education policy as well as instituted 13th-month salary initiatives for public servants known as Akpabio-members.
Akpabio added, “Is it not when I became the governor that I took over the road from Ibeno to Eket and started dualising it in a hurry out of anger and you can now see dualised roads with bridges? Is it not when I became the governor that you saw compulsory education policy?” Is it not when I became governor that you knew what is called Akpabio-Ember–13th-month salary?”
The Senate President, who turned the stakeholders’ engagement meeting into a platform to reflect on his achievements as governor, added that it was during his time that the state won the Guinness World Record for hosting the largest-ever Christmas Carol and started hosting more than 10,000 people to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ every year.
He added, “I sent you to Jerusalem, and those of you who are Muslims went to Mecca to pray for Akwa Ibom, to pray for Nigeria. Was it not when I became the governor that you felt the impact of Christmas celebration, that we could host over 10,000 people in one occasion to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and won the Guinness Book of World Records for assembling the largest Carol on Earth to sing to the glory of God? But today God said i should do it again for Nigerians.”
“For two years, I struggled to get to Portharcourt, Owerri, and Calabar to enter the plane. I saw how people died while rushing to enter plane. So, out of anger, the project that was started and abandoned, i completed the International Airport, so our people could travel straight, you don’t need to go and be insulted by Mobil struggling to enter Mobil Red Horse. Mobil now needs to use our airport,” Akpabio added.
He also blamed the Eket senatorial district for not inviting him to their campaign during the last election, boasting that there is nowhere he would enter that people would not vote for the APC.
“So I didn’t know whether you were serious, but in 2027, I want to assure you that we will be more serious, I tried to call them to give me your campaign itinerary, but they refused to give it to me. Is there anywhere I will enter that people will not vote for APC? You should have invited Godswill Akpabio, but you felt let us abandoned him to the other side (Ikot Ekpene senatorial district).
“Look at what the other side did; they gave President Tinubu 120.000 votes, but Uyo and Eket combined ended up with only 40,000 votes,” he added.
Speaking while addressing another stakeholders’meeting in Uyo on the same day Akpabio called for unity and stressed the need for party members to remain firm on the party they belong, adding that they “cannot be members of APC and PDP at the same time”.
Earlier, the APC chairman, Mr Stephen Ntukekpo, thanked President Bola Tinubu, and the Senate President, Akpabio, for inclusivity and pledged continuous support and loyalty by party members in the state.
