Friday Iwok: An ignorant Assemblyman

Some Fridays ago, the member representing Abak State Constituency at the 5th Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Hon (Elder) Friday Iwok made mockery of himself when he took to the AKBC radio airwaves to attempt to speak on the lose of accreditation of Schools of Nursing in Akwa Ibom State.

It was not our intention to join this issue with Friday Iwok since he is to us one of the clowns at the House of Assembly. And at the same time we understand that he has a right to defend himself even when he is the architect of his own misfortune. But Friday Iwok went ‘gaga’ when he sponsored in quick follow-up a commentary to that effect. Hard as Friday Iwok may try, he can’t erase the naked truth that Akwa Ibom State Schools of Nursing have all lost accreditation and above all that he is very ignorant of what is happening in the sector he is supposed to have oversight function over.

The newspaper in its Vol. 1 No. 10 edition of TUESDAY 2ND - MONDAY 8TH JULY, 2013 had carried a story “Rotten ministry of Shame, Akwa Ibom Schools of Nursing lose accreditation”. It was exactly over a month and Friday Iwok decided to go on air. No qualms about that.

Let us educate Mr. Friday Iwok a little. There is a difference between reaching someone and not reaching someone. Contrary to what Friday Iwok wants the general public to believe, the newspaper had actually reached Friday Iwok on phone to speak on the lost of accreditation of these schools. Iwok while responding to our sms shamelessly in his text said “I am outside, when I am back sir”

 This response is an outright display of ignorance. These schools had lost accreditation long before this time and Friday Iwok did not know? And did not know what to say even while he was not in town?

As a matter of fact if he was a legislator worth his onions, he would have been the one to take the notice of the loss to the floor of the House of Assembly during plenary. He intended to hide it because he had evil and wicked intentions. As the chairman of the AKHA committee on Health, one is of the opinion that Mr. Iwok should be alive to his responsibilities. Or was he thinking by texting he is not in town as a response, the Paper was going to wait for him? Or was he feeling like he is the only man that knows how to travel? For us in THE INK, Friday Iwok and his lazy antics don’t matter. What does is that we are able to defend the truth at all times.

If Friday Iwok cares to listen, we stand by our story and can never be intimidated.

Our advice to the speaker of the House of Assembly Rt. (Hon.) Elder Sam Ikon is that himself and principal officers of the House should please redeploy Hon. Friday Iwok to another committee or be dropped as the chairman of the Health Committee because matters of health are too delicate and sensitive to be entrusted into the hands of mediocres and novices lawmakers like Friday Iwok.