RE: THE IBOM TROPICANA ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX: AKPABIO’S SEPULCHRE OF UNCOMMON LARCENY

Godwin Akpan

An article written by Ita Awak, with the above caption, published in a mushroom blog in Akwa Ibom, as it relates to Akpabio, is one article written by an attention seeking individual in the state. It is on record that the immediate past Governor of the State and the Minority Leader of the Senate, Chief Godswill Akpabio, met nothing on ground when pointing at the Ibom Tropicana. Ita Awak had in his one page article stated thus: “He also loquaciously bragged that this elephantine waste will cost Akwa Ibom taxpayers some 33 billion Naira and generate 5,000 jobs that’ll gainfully engage our people. But alas! What do we have? ??”

We need to clarify him and put the records straight, because, the “elephantine” which Awak referred to would best have been described if he had referred to the administration before Akpabios’. Since Ita Awak joined the opposition party, and was given a portfolio, everything done by Akpabio and the PDP in the state becomes what he needs to reckon with. If Awak was not aggrieved with the party that made him, he would still be singing the praises of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

Administrations come and go, and Itak Awak who knows this, but refused to understand, expected Akpabio to deliver in all the projects he embarked on. For record purposes, Godswill Akpabio came in as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and completed almost all the projects embarked upon by his predecessor. If there is an ongoing project which Awak claimed Akpabio left at 55% completion, won’t it be rather nice for Awak and his co-travelers in the opposition to applaud the former Governor for a job weldone?

Despite the criticism, people like Awak still have the time to parade themselves in the Tropicana Entertainment as TOURISTS, and are still talking about it. Godswill Akpabio remains a model and an Institution upon which Awak and his opposition members will always talk about, or study. We would have preferred to ignore such a write up, knowing too well that it is coming from an aggrieved voice, but for the members of the public who may be misled by such publicity.

Ita Awak needs to come to the reality that, Godswill Akpabio had long moved on in governance at another level.
Today Akpabio is not only representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District at the Senate, he leads the entire PDP lawmakers in the National Assembly by virtue of his position as the Minority Leader of the Senate of the Federal republic of Nigeria, and he Ita Awak, should brace up to this facts and function effectively as an opposition member, rather than look for where he can vent his anger and score cheap political points.

Just few days ago, precisely on the 7th of November, a respected, internationally recognized socio-cultural organization, Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio, MMI, honoured Sen. Akpabio with an Outstanding Leadership Award.
The occasion which was the 19th edition of Obong Sampson Udo Etuk award and dinner night, saw governor Udom Emmanuel presenting the award to the Minority Leader of the Senate. Now, the beautiful part of this award is that the award is coming six months after Sen. Akpabio left office as the governor. Again, the award is coming from the people Sen. Akpabio governed during his 8 years in office as the governor.

The pertinent question here is: If by virtue of this award the people of AKS are saying ‘thank you Godswill Akpabio for the quality leadership you gave to us as governor’, who is Ita Awak to say otherwise? Today, where Akpabio stopped, has been a starting point for Udom Emmanuel. No Government no matter how perfect it looks, can out rightly be 100% right.

Akpabio did more than his best in the eight years he held sway as Governor. We will expect more from Awak as he is only carrying out a job which he is paid to do by the opposition. Let the truth be told no matter how it looks…and who Jah has blessed no one can cause. Senator Godswill Akpabio is blessed!

Godwin Akpan is the presenter of the programme, FOR THE LOVE OF NIGERIA. 08037668847