• I’m not afraid of Magu –Akpabio
From James Ojo, Magnus Eze, Abuja and Joe Effiong, Uyo
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has said Nigeria needs pragmatic policies instead of unnecessary politics, to pull out of the current recession.
Speaking in Abuja, at the weekend, on behalf of other awardees at the Leadership 2016 awards ceremony, organised by Leadership Newspapers, he said what mattered in leadership was the ability to achieve much with little resources, especially at this period of dwindling revenue.
“Let me point out something about leadership; a good trait of leadership is not measured by using maximum resources to achieve maximum result, but by using minimal resources to achieve maximum result. That is what makes the difference.
“Here, on behalf of all of us, we were not voted or given the mandate to get the applause; we were given the mandate for a cause not for applause. So, I want to call on Nigerians using this platform that our democracy can only be strong if our economy is strong. We need to have a clear paradigm shift and concentrate on our policies that would move us forward and not politics that will drag us backward.”
Emmanuel, who was tied in the Governor of the Year category with Governors Muhammad Bindow and Willie Obiano of Adamawa and Anambra states, respectively, thanked Nigerians for giving them the opportunity to serve.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, has denied a statement credited to him to the effect that he was against the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
A statement circulated online by a group, which goes by the acronym MURIC, had quoted Akpabio as saying: “Magu wants us to confirm him so he can use some of us for pepper soup.”
Akpabio, in a statement issued by his Media Assistant, Anietie Ekong, described the statement as a lie and figment of the purveyors’ imagination which ordinarily should not have been dignified with a response
“The devilish intent of the sponsors is to paint the Senate minority leader in bad light before Nigerians, it becomes imperative that the records be put straight and some germane questions asked the sponsors of the fabricated story and some online media owners who allowed themselves to be used to spread this message of hate and complete falsehood.
“We would want MURIC to disclose the location where Akpabio purportedly made the statement, the audience he addressed and also provide a record of the interaction before Nigerians could take them and their infantile claim serious. We believe MURIC, as a serious organisation should not be a purveyor of beer parlour gossips that defy reason and logic.We advise sponsors and purveyors of hate and falsehood against the person and office of the Senate minority leader to leave him alone and allow him face the legislative duties which he was elected to carry and not bring undue distractions on him,” the statement said.
Also, attempts by the Akwa Ibom State Government, to stop an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), of corruption, involving the finances of the state, has failed.
Justice Festus Ntong of Akwa-Ibom State High Court sitting in Ikot Ekpene, has declined an application to stop a suit filed by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uwemedimo Nwoko, seeking to restrain ICPC or any other federal anti-corruption agency from investigating the government of the state for alleged corrupt practices without prior authorisation by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.
A statement from Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa, of ICPC, that Nwoko had argued in the suit that a federal agency would be acting beyond its powers if it investigated a matter involving an official or agency of the Akwa Ibom State Government.
Upon a preliminary objection filed by ICPC disputing the competence of the court to entertain any claim against the federal government or any of its agencies, the trial court ruled that the state High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain such a claim. and therefore struck out the case.