First one hundred days have been spectacular * There will be no rerun in this state- Ekerete Udoh

* Why the opposition is jittery
* The governor is enjoying the confidence of the president

Mr. Ekerete Udoh is the Chief Press Secretary and Senior Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Media and publicity. In this interview with KENNETH JUDE, he speaks on a range of issues including the Governor’s first 100 days in office, his relationship with president Buhari,  challenges of governance and what the people of Akwa Ibom state should look forward to in the days ahead. Excerpts:  

You last spoke to us when the current administration was about taking off; so far, so good, how has the experience been on the job?
It’s the same thing I’ve been doing for thirty years now; the only difference is that you are now recording the activities of government. Apart from that, it’s the same old media relations job. So far so good, I can say that the building blocks of engagement remain the same, we write, analyse and do all that, nothing has changed really.

You sound like someone who has settled in well to work, what could you say has been the secret?
Well, I’ll say it’s experience, training, exposure, contacts, enduring friendships and relationships formed over the years having laboured in the vineyard of journalism. Like I said, am trained for it. I have the intellectual foundation to do the job and I have the agility of mind to do whatever responsibility that comes with the job.

You worked for a good number of years in the field as a journalist, and now you are within the precincts of government, how can you compare now and then, considering that the thrust of your job entails you have to project the image of your boss positively?
I think truth is very transparent; it’s all out there in the open space. Governor Udom Emmanuel runs a transparent government, a people-centric government, a government whose foundation is built on enduring platform of Christian virtues and focus. So there’s nothing to hide, there’s nothing to obfuscate, so I speak about activities of his government lucidly, clearly and based on the foundation of truth and transparency. Like I told you the first time you interviewed me, we are open and the good people of Akwa Ibom State have come to realise that the government of Udom Emmanuel is one that is founded on truth, honesty and transparency. 

If you have things to hide, then you’ll look for ways to cover your tracks but in this case, there’s nothing to hide. The governor said his emphasis was going to be on industrialisation, there have been an eight year solid infrastructural renaissance and it is there for everyone to see. His predecessor, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio did wonderfully well during his time and it is there for everyone to see. Udom Emmanuel as a candidate running to become the governor of Akwa Ibom State said he is going to take this thing to the next level and the next level is to empower our youths through the creation of employment opportunities and that can only happen if you have investors come in here to set up industries, expand opportunities and all that. So, he has done that and we’ve seen that in clear terms. Investors are trooping into the state. 

This administration has performed the ground breaking ceremony of a car assembling plant in Itu and work is going on. We saw one the other day in Itam; a ground breaking for a Led factory while Peacock Paint has just been commissioned and the governor is committed to resuscitating more moribund industries and he has given verve to that by what we have seen already. He has done well and he is committed to improving the quality of life of the people. And one way of improving the quality of life is to ensure that people go to sleep in a sound mind and sound body; people should not grope in the dark. The governor said he is going to improve  electricity supply in the state and so far, people are talking about it. 

In the first three weeks of his administration, he got the energy company to improve the Wattage by 20 and now there is conscious effort to ensure that we have electricity supply for eighteen (18) hours.  A greater section of Calabar-Itu Road was almost devastated by gully erosion. Some other states that faced similar situation on federal roads waited on the federal government to intervene which in some instances didn’t happen. But in our own case, work started the next day courtesy of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s speedy intervention. And if you go there now, that situation has been arrested. Eket-Ibeno Road that has been completely impassable, the governor did the same and ordered that work should start the next day. In Oron, it’s the same story so, with all of these, the work speaks for itself. Governor Udom Emmanuel is working and Akwa Ibom people are benefitting.

This administration just marked its first one hundred days (100) in office, how has the journey been so far?
It’s been wonderful. Governor Udom Emmanuel, in my opinion, and am sure this opinion is shared by a lot of people is one of the most innovative governors in the current dispensation. He’s been telling people that he is not a politician but a professional in politics. So, his approach to governance is based on a model that works. The government has done practically most of its campaign promises in its first 100 days. He has laid the foundation for further expansion on what has formed part of his five point agenda. So, we are on course. We have flagged off the construction of road projects and more will come. He has set up a Technical Committee on Food and Agric sufficiency, which will further open Akwa Ibom State and make it a place of comparative advantage in the agro-allied industry. 

All you need do is to look at the area of comparative advantage and tap into that. And that’s what the governor has done; he sent some youths of Akwa Ibom State to learn the art and science of agriculture, in possibly the land with the most intense expertise in agric production, Israel. This is done with the knowledge and belief that jobs tomorrow will be given to those who are technologically driven. Over 1000 youths are being currently trained in Oracle Application, so he has done pretty well and I think in another one year, six months, Akwa Ibom people will thumb their chest and say, look, we thank God we made the right choice.

You’ve spoken quite glowingly about Governor Udom Emmanuel, what do you think is the motivating factor behind all the lofty projects he has embarked on so far?
Nothing more than service. That is a young man that God has planned his path and he has succeeded in achieving great strides in his chosen profession which is Banking and Finance.  He didn’t have to come here, he was comfortable, he was made for life but because of the need to provide service to his people, he came. Governor Udom, then as Secretary to the State Government did not collect  salary, he was just motivated to come and  add value to the system, and today, to the glory of God, he’s been thrust on the platform of being the governor, and that’s what he’s been doing.  We have to change our attitude; we have to change our mindset. We have to realise that though government is a force for good but government alone cannot be the be all and end all.

Can we then say that it has been all smooth-sailing for the governor?
It’s been smooth-sailing, of course, there are pockets of naysayers. They will always be there; people who thrive in the insidious industry of manufacturing lies and blackmail, and do not see anything in the ennobling ideals of government. Even if tomorrow, they wake up in the morning and every household has a job that pays a million naira, instead of saying that that is a wonderful policy that has brought relive to the people, they will look for a word to demonise same. So there are pockets of naysayers. But the good majority of Akwa Ibom people are with us and that’s our happiness.

Why are people so critical of this administration in just 100 days?
I think it’s a deeply rooted problem which was aptly captured by the late Professor Emmanuel Ayandele, the one-time Vice Chancellor (VC) of Unical who said that we are “an atomistic society that is perpetually at war with itself”. That was an apt if not an indecorous description of our people. But he was right. I don’t know how we came to internalising such negative depth of belief that there’s nothing good in us. But that is changing. We don’t seem to applaud anything that comes from one of us, we don’t. If someone were to set up a one kilometre road in Aba, if the people on the other side of the political divide traveled to that side, they will lionise that particular road than the beautiful road network we have here. 

It’s a sad mindset but it will change. Am sure our people are beginning to realise that. We are good and wonderful people, we are also very hospitable. So it’s an evolving preposition and we will get to a point that we will begin to have more faith in government and the capacity of government to reach out and do big things.

Is there any programme being put in place to help disabuse the minds of the people from this perpetual mindset?
Sooner or later, we will unveil a campaign. We have to begin to love our state, love ourselves, love the culture that defines us and love everything about the Akwa Ibom spirit. Sooner or later, that will be unveiled.

What have been the major challenges for this administration in the last one hundred days?
Akwa Ibom State is healthy, the state of our state, if I may use the American line, is solid and the fundamentals are absolutely on point. So if any naysayer somewhere wants to paint a rather unbefitting picture, they are entitled to their own narrow definitional prism.

How has the governor been able to carry all those who backed him at the polls along in his administration?
Well, he has, except those who were invited to join the train and the train stopped for hours and they looked at the train and said, no, it’s not going to move, the train has been disabled, it’s not going anywhere. And then they kept waiting for the train to clung to death but all of a sudden, the driver of the train said look, you are not believers so I’ve taken my train and am gone and by the time they realised that the train they thought was dead was very much alive, now they are running after that train but, of course, the train had left the station and there are left staring, gazing and wondering oh my God, why didn’t I join the train. So those people that deliberately refused to join, having left themselves out of the train, would wish they were part of that train, but since they are not part of that train, they will wish that the train will derail; but the driver is steady, strong and focused and is on the boulevard of industralization and wealth creation.

There was a time that the media was awash with news of appointments for certain individuals and it generated so much excitement across the state but the excitement was cut short when a release came from your office the next day denying any appointment whatsoever; what really happened? It was a criminal thing first and foremost because you don’t use the instrument of government, you don’t clone an instrument of government and put out a false and misleading story, you don’t do that. People who did that knew it was wrong and you don’t use the name of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of a state and append his name and say that he was the one that wrote the press release. It was wrong, it was false. They just did one the other day which I put out a disclaimer. They said we were having unserviceable cars in Government House that people should come and buy and they put my name as the one that signed it. But they knew there was nothing like that and I had to put a disclaimer. I’ve told them in no uncertain terms that there are certain lines you don’t cross. It is immoral, it is criminal, it shows lack of character and depth, and you don’t do those things.

What is the Government doing to rein in these characters since their actions are capable of causing disaffection in the system?
Whichever group that is responsible for that should know that government has the capacity to unearth anything. So my advice to them will be for them to desist from their actions because like they say in America, “the big eye of Uncle Sam is watching you or the Eagle is watching you.’’ But in this case, we know what they are doing and it will be in their best interest to stop all this charade and shenanigans.

After Governor Udom Emmanuel accompanied President Muhammadu Buhari to Cameroun and returned, there were reports that the president was unhappy with the governor’s attitude and had therefore vowed never to take him along again in his travels, is this true?
Well, am sure their camp is jittery over the fact that President Buhari has found in Governor Udom Emmanuel an ally that he can work together to move this country forward. So they are scared and there’s no better way for them to demonstrate their fear than to manufacture a very, very childish tale. Do they know that President Buhari is the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? His constituency is not Daura where he comes from, it’s Nigeria and he will pick the best. He has found in Governor Udom a veritable ally to help develop the country and the people on the other side are jittery. But we don’t waste time on those kind of issues because they are childish and infantile. 

You can imagine how shocked they are, that Governor Emmanuel is the only PDP governor that the president has appointed into a group to look at the books of the NNPC. The opposition will want to believe that the governor is this or that but president Buhari has seen the sterling qualities in him so, that’s why he selected him to work with him. The president is the president of Nigeria and he can pick anybody with integrity that he so desires to work with him. Governor Emmanuel is one of such. So, I will advise the opposition to go take a little break and celebrate the continued ascendancy of the Akwa Ibom spirit.

What do you make of reports that Governor Udom Emmanuel has set up a rerun committee?
It is false. There will be no rerun in this state. We are in the business of running government. The governor was elected on April 11, 2015 to run Akwa Ibom State, he was sworn in on May 29, 2015 and ever since, he’s been doing his job, so I don’t know about rerun when you are doing the job that you were elected to perform. The governor is working.

What has been the perception of the people of Akwa Ibom State towards this administration?
They are full of enthusiasm and are very excited. Even those who didn’t support us initially have now come to realise that this was a divinely inspired mandate and that mandate will remain sacrosanct and involiable

Moving forward, what should the people look up to?
Continuous dividends of democracy spreading to all senatorial districts, touching lives, impacting lives and showing that government will always be a force for good. Empowering people, changing mindset, establishing tools for empowerment and making sure Akwa Ibom State still remains a destination of choice amongst Nigerians and foreigners alike.

What is your parting shot to the people of Akwa Ibom State?
Thank you for giving us the mandate and the mandate is safe and secure and through that mandate, your lives will never be the same again. That is the charge that Governor Udom Emmanuel has given to himself and his administration and that will be translated down the line to the good people of Akwa Ibom State. It is a wonderful time to be an Akwa Ibom son and daughter. It has been so for eight years pr the trend continues.