Greedy grand-pa: Moses Ekpo pockets N250million monthly * As security vote

 More and more shocking revelations are emerging about the sincerity of the Udom Emmanuel administration. THE INK newspaper can report authoritatively that Governor Emmanuel and his deputy, Mr. Moses Ekpo are conniving to run the state aground.

Investigations by the paper reveal for example that the state deputy governor Mr. Moses Ekpo goes home with a whopping N250million every month as security vote.

Impeccable sources at the office of the No.2 man in the state shows that the old man has continued to receive this sum ever since they were sworn- in in May 2015 even when he cannot point to any tangible thing done with the money.

Our source said that the perceived feud or unhappiness that the media particularly THE INK newspaper reported about recently was because the governor make an attempt to cut down the deputy governor’s security vote by about 30%. 

He said the governor had reasoned with his deputy that since the money coming into the state coffers from the Federation Account was seriously reduced, they needed  to make an adjustment in their security votes especially on the one due the office of the deputy governor. The governor is said to have pleaded with his deputy that they needed to make some sacrifices to free some funds to be ploughed back to the industrialization programme of the administration.

This move by the governor, the source said, infuriated the deputy governor who flared up at the governor accusing the latter of trying to ridicule him and his office. The deputy governor was said to have raised his voice so high that the attention of the First Lady was having a meeting with some women leaders in the state was attracted and it took her intervention to avert a degeneration of the situation into a serious problem between the two.

THE INK learnt that since that incidence the deputy governor has developed the attitude of taking offense at every move of the governor. Our source said Mr. Moses Ekpo had to quickly report the issue to the former governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio who immediately phoned Governor Udom Emmanuel to instruct him to allow sleeping dogs lie.

The rift between the governor and his deputy, this paper understands, has equally affected working and even personal relationships between aides on both camps. Our source said currently there is a beef among the aides such that they hardly exchange greeting when they run into one another.

For example, one of the aides of the governor in a chat with our reporter referred to the deputy governor as “greedy old fool” who wants to reap from where he did not sow

“Why can’t the deputy governor be content with what he is enjoying already? What does he really want? Is N250 million he takes home every month not enough? After all, what did he really contribute to the election in terms of naira and kobo? And now he wants to grab everything. Let the old man go and sleep, “the aide slammed.

How the frosty relationship between the two most important offices in the state will dissolve in favour or against the well-being of the state remains to be seen.