Season of blackmail by Kenneth Jude

Gov. Udom

These are unusual times. It’s a season where politics has assumed a horrendous dimension. Everything and anything are just happening with dizzying speed. Talk about blackmail and laying claim to another’s intellectual property and you won’t be further from true state of things. No institution appears safe in this potpourri of happenstances.  As the state Government went to town with the dakkada initiative, its opponents laid an ominous ambush. While the Udom Emmanuel led administration saw the catchword from a standpoint of rebirth and regeneration in all strata of life, the opposition All Progressives Congress turned the buzz word on its head. They simply asked the Governor to make haste to vacate his seat for Umana Okon Umana who is seeking for the nullification of Udom’s April 11 victory at the polls. As if that was not enough, those who have sworn by their breathe never to recognise Deacon Udom Emmanuel as Governor said the dakkada phrase is another ploy to set off another round of pilfering spree as was the trademark of the immediate past administration.

These ones have simply turned deaf ear to the beats and roar by the Government of the day that dakkada is meant to rebrand the mind, refocus the thoughts and revive the can-do spirit of an average Akwa Ibom citizen. They don’t see it as an initiative that is well-thought out or designed for the benefit of the people. But the government, it appears, cares no hoot to what is coming from the opposition. They are simply stomping away with steadied gait in what they believe in irrespective of whose ox is gored. As the heat was about dying down, Governor Udom Emmanuel came under heat again. This time, the opposition accused him of spending a whopping sum of N4b to mark the state anniversary.
Udom was accused of continuing the culture of wanton spending of resources reminiscent of his predecessor’s era. They said as a banker, Udom has betrayed his foundation which ordinarily should be steeped in strict and diligent management of resources. To the opposition All Progressives Congress, the sustained media bleats and jamboree that attended the celebration of the state anniversary was unnecessary in light of the prevailing hunger in the land. But was N4b actually spent on the state anniversary? Commissioner for Information, Mr. Aniekan Umana came out to clear the air on what was spent to mark the 28th anniversary of the creation of Akwa Ibom State.
He made concerted effort to disabuse the minds of those who accused the government of spending N4b on the state anniversary. But he was rather taciturn about the truth of the matter. While he made effort at debunking the news, he rather opened a can of worms and laid bare his wing to be clipped by an ever critical and observant populace. The third term Info Commissioner said the Government did not spend N4b on the state anniversary as alleged by the opposition, describing those that bandied the news as political jobbers who are out to misinform the public and create disaffection between the Government and the people. All said, the Commissioner failed to cook his response properly. While he cleared the air on the amount accused the government of ploughing into the celebration, he did not come out clean on the exact amount that was spent for the celebration.
The opposition and some Akwa Ibom citizens latched on that lacuna to pour venom on the Abak born Information boss. No word was spared in denigrating his person for adding salt to injury. He was called unprintable names by those who have always antagonised the PDP government right from when Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio held sway as Governor. This group do not believe that Akpabio did anything for the state. To them, it was eight years of anguish and financial recklessness under the embattled Minority leader of the Senate. Try as the swagger and all-action Senator deployed his rhetorical prowess and gusto to yell into the eardrums of the people how much he transformed the state from a pedestrian terrain to a destination, little or no in-roads did he make as it fell on deaf ears. Riding on the coat tails of Akpabio to the Hilltop Mansion, Udom is seen from the eye of his predecessor. Whatever he does, no matter how-well intentioned, he is not spared by the ever boisterous opposition and critics. Every verbal stone, no matter how uncouth, is hurled at the ex Zenith bank chief. That is why the Awa Iman born financial guru has had it rough and tempestuous from the opposition, critics and a section of the media since he took over the levers of power as governor of Akwa Ibom State.
The bare fact remains that Akwa Ibom people still believe that a humongous sum of N4b was expended on the state’s 28th anniversary except they are told something to the contrary and the actual figures made public for scrutiny. Until that is done, the people will continue to see the Udom Emmanuel administration as not being transparent in financial matters, this is even as Akwa Ibom people are yet to be told how much the current government inherited from the previous administration of Godswill Obot Akpabio. Well, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political and Legislative Affairs, Rt. Hon. Anietie Etuk has come out to assert that the handover notes from the previous administration will soon be made public at the right time. Let’s hope it’s not April fool in October even as we wait patiently to peruse the contents of the handover notes whenever it is made available.
Another issue that has dominated space is the new taxation policy of Governor Udom Emmanuel. The government says its intention about the new tax rebirth is not aimed at impoverishing workers as has been perceived but designed to better their lots. The new tax policy means that there will be 50 percent reduction in their salaries; at least, that is what I gathered from those who should know. That, according to media reports did not do down well with workers who were said to have been taken aback by the development. They groaned that the policy is unfavourable to them. Another story had it that the intention of the new tax regime is a grand plan by Governor Udom Emmanuel to pull resources in readiness for a rerun.
But the Government has come out to debunk stories making the round that its intension is to subject Akwa Ibom workers to hardship. To the Government, it is a new plan that is meant to rather improve the worker’s output and create a favourable working condition for them. Good as this explanation may sound; many are of the opinion that the government should have embarked on enlightenment campaign before commencing the policy. The people, especially the affected workers, have threatened a showdown with the government over what they described as government’s insensitivity and poor handling of the policy. They argue that the policy is wrongly timed and hasty. Many issues have cropped up on this singular matter and the government has been kept on its toes on this one. Governor Udom Emmanuel surely has his hands full. How he and his team will wriggle out of this vexed issue remains to be seen.
It was also this tax brouhaha that caused hoopla in the media and unsettled certain figures within government circle. A state based Newspaper had launched out with a sensational story that caused commotion across the state. Governor Udom Emmanuel was referred in the story as ‘armed robber governor.’’ The news set off a firestorm of arguments in the state. The news was on the tax policy of the current administration where it was alleged that the governor was out to frustrate and compound the unfavourable working conditions of workers. Not taking the allegation lightly in view of how weighty and damaging calling a sitting governor an armed robber is, the NUJ, in collaboration with the Special Assistant on Local Media and the Chief press Secretary to Governor Udom Emmanuel had to intervene in the raging matter in order to put issues in perspective. The paper that reported the news was flayed and the crux of the meeting was to call on the media to do away with painting the state in bad light and bringing the high office of the governor to disrepute. The meeting condemned the report, describing it as an unprofessional way to practice a profession that should ordinarily be filled with gentlemen. But then, this same tabloid has been known for their style right from the time of Governor Akpabio and they showed no sign of retreating from their pattern. One is only wondering if this intervention by the NUJ and the Governor’s men will do anything to tame these guys who maintain they are doing their business hence should be allowed to earn their living.
The fact is that publishers of the paper are not willing to change their style of practice. To them, they are feeding the public with useful and factual information in order to keep them informed but the government believes they have derailed from the right path and have rather set out to deceive, mislead and corrupt the minds of the people hence should be called to order. One had thought that the media briefing will prick the conscience of those they insist have abandoned the core calling of their profession for reasons best known to them,  but they came out and scorned those who conceived and participated in the media chat which was solely organised because of what they reported. To them, it was a misplaced priority as those who found the report injurious to their personality should have done what the law requires rather than resort to chasing shadows.
From what one could glean from both side’s stance, it appears the battle is on as nobody is willing to shift grounds. It means more of such stories that have toppled the government of the day are still in the offing. So, what if worse things are published in the coming days by a section of the media against the government? How will the government react to it? Will they drag these papers to court or the Nigerian Press Council for defamation and libel? Only the passage of time will determine how events will pan out in an increasingly sensitive and perceptive society.
After five months of taking over the reins of the country’s number seat, President Muhammadu Buhari finally rolled out his ministerial nominees. Two-term Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Udo Udoma made the cut for Akwa Ibom. As the news hit town, it divided opinion across the state. Reports had it that Obong Umana Okon Umana and the APC were ill at ease with the choice of Udoma who is not their party man. But while the news raged, UOU, through his media aide, Mr. Iboro Otongaran distanced his principal from the reports, arguing that his UOU has no hole with Buhari’s choice of Udoma as minister.
Soon after, another report came that the choice of Udoma was championed by Governor Udom Emmanuel with PDP faithful applauding Buhari for choosing a man who is not from his party, APC. While that was yet to die down, news were awash in the internet to the effect that Udo Udoma’s nomination was not influenced by Udom. So, in all these, who do we believe? Did Governor Udom Emmanuel have a hand in Udo Udoma’s nomination? Is UOU and APC unsettled by the nomination? Let the media punches begin!