Akwa Ibom Representive blame APC of hijacking Aisha Buhari’s visit

The Akwa Ibom state government has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state of “hijacking” the planned visit of the first lady, Aisha Buhari, to the state.

Mrs Buhari is visiting the Akwa Ibom this Friday to flag off her pet project, Future assured, a nongovernmental organisation advocating the wellbeing of women, children, and adolescents in Nigeria.

Ita Enang, an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, while briefing reporters on Thursday, said the flag-off ceremony will take place at the Nsima Ekere Campaign Ground in Uyo.

He said about 10,000 youth in the state are expected to receive interest-free loans, grants, and various forms of training from the Future Assured, together with its partners, which include the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and two senators from the state – Godswill Akpabio and Nelson Effiong.

The Akwa Ibom government said the APC was planning to “hijack” the protocols associated with Mrs Buhari’s visit in order to make political capital out of it.

The government specifically accused Mr Akpabio, a former governor of the state, of wanting to use the visit to blackmail the state government.

“The struggle for the soul of Akwa Ibom State come 2019 is becoming dirtier,” said a statement forwarded to PREMIUM TIMES, Friday, by the Commissioner for Information in the state Charles Udoh.

“The office of the First Lady had written to the State Government informing it of her visit to the state and the government is said to have made adequate arrangements befitting of her status and office.

“Suddenly, former governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio is alleged to have taken his personal vehicles to the DSS office in Uyo preparatory to the visit of the wife of the president.

“We have been rightly informed of this plan by Senator Goodwill Akpabio to deliberately blackmail the State Government by bungling the protocols of this visit, embarrass the State Government by creating a climate of odium and despair and thereafter rejoice over such failure,” the statement said.