Archive: Godswill Akpabio, the prodigal Governor and his uncontrolable spending habit

First Pubblished in May 2013
His story is a replica of the biblical prodigal son. The one who squandered the whole of his inheritance and returned to his father empty handed. The way and manner His Excellency, Godswill Akpabio, the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, opens the state’s treasury to show generousity to whoever is lucky to be at the right place at the right time, at the expense of the state’s purse, will make the biblical prodigal son or even Santa Claus green with envy.
He first stormed national limelight, early in his first term in office, when whistle blowing online news medium, Sahara Reporters reported that the free giving governor had given a bullet proof Mercedez Benz GL 450 SUV to the then Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, Farida Waziri. The car was allegedly delivered to the former EFCC boss on the 3rd of December, 2008. The chassis number on the vehicle was WD 1648711A 390877 CIT carries a WDC because it was branded by US automaker Daimler Chrysler. On its website, the automaker stated: “The Mercedes-Benz GL-Class (code name X164) is Daimler Chrysler full-size luxury crossover SUV built by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz since 2007 model year.” The brand new Jeep, then, cost N68Million [estimated at $500,000 because it is fully armoured (bullet proof). Although Akpabio denied the story and even invited select journalists to sight the car that was reportedly given to the EFCC boss, claiming it was still in the governor’s convoy, but it took 18 clear months after the story was reported.godswill_akpabio33
In the same vein, sometime ago, the news went viral on the internet, that the free spending governor allegedly awarded a contract running into hundreds of millions of naira to a Nollywood actress and Glo ambassador, described as very close to the governor, to build a Film academy in Uyo, the state capital. At a point, Ini Edo had to issue a statement denying the alleged contract. “As a rule, I don’t reply every talk or report about me, but these recent ones are crazy and baseless. I don’t know where they got their information that my state governor offered me N600m to build an art or film academy in Uyo. This is just another work of mischief makers, who keep troubling celebrities. To put the records straight, my state governor has not offered me such money to build a film academy in Uyo as was falsely reported.” She concluded.
The ‘hot cakes’ in town now are ladies from the State, a popular columnist once joked. The basis for that joke is not farfetched; Gov. Akpabio recently shocked the nation when he splashed thousands of dollars on awards winning Hip-Hop sensation, Tuface idibia and his wife, Annie, during their traditional wedding in Eket Local Government Area of the State. Aside dolling out a Toyota Prado Sports utility Vehicle [SUV] to the couple, Governor Akpabio equally pledged to sponsor 20 people from the State to their wedding slated for Dubai. The wedding has since held in Dubai, but as at the time of going to press, National Infinity was not able to confirm if Gov, Akpabio paid his pledge. According to Gov. Akpabio’s Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umana, the gift was a compensation for Annie who stood by 2face through their trying periods. If Akpabio were to be fair, he would have to make hundreds of thousands of such donations to every Akwa Ibom daughter who decides to put up with the sexual escapades of her boyfriend or fiancée.
Gov. Akpabio, who recently became the chairman of the newly formed PDP Governors Forum, a body believed to have been midwifed by the presidency, solely to whittle down the influence of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), chaired by the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, smashed his way into the record books when he offered the most expensive lunch per person in Nigeria at N1m each to the six PDP’s state chairmen from the South South zone. Hinging his cash donation to the PDP chairmen during a zonal conference in Port Harcourt, on an earlier advise by his Delta State counterpart, Dr, Emmanuel Uduaghan, on the need to empower the people as a way of keeping them in the party, Akpabio said “Well, my brother governor, Uduaghan said you are hungry. So, I will give the state chairmen from the six states N1million per state for Mr. Biggs right now. All the state chairman should see me immediately after my remarks so that least I will drop #1million each for Mr. Biggs’ so that PDP can chart the course for empowerment.”
Akpbio also caught negative media exposure when he donated the sum of N230million on behalf of 23 PDP governors at the launch of St. Stephens Anglican Deanery and Youth Developing Centre in Otueke, Bayelsa State, home of President Goodluck Jonathan. It was obvious that he did not consult with many of the other governors as he otherwise feigned before making the donation on their behalf. Indeed, some of them grumbled over the cash donation on the grounds that they were not in the know.
A man deeply in love with Nollywood , a week before the Tuface and his wife episode, he had instituted a N50m endowment fund to honor exceptional actors and actresses in Nollywood. A venture roundly criticized as a waste of state resources.
During a routine visit to Abuja, he ran into the Golden Eaglets at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, on sighting the team, he was said to have exclaimed ‘this is the youngest set of Eaglets I have ever seen.’ On the spot, he pledged a N10m donation to the team. He has since redeemed the pledge.
In this days of electronic money transfer and cashless economy, it was reported that a huge sum of money was stolen from his luggage during an Arik Air flight from Uyo to Lagos. Two staff of the airline are now in court, charged for theft.
Five days after he recklessly donated a brand new Toyota SUV to newly-wed Nigerian musician, Tuface Idibia and his wife, the Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, acquired exotic bullet-proof sprinter luxury vans from US-based Texas Armoring Corporation (TAC).
Gov. Akpabio took delivery of the armoured Mercedes Benz vans after they were customized to his specifications by TAC in Texas, website Saharareporters.com quoted a source as saying.
The vans will join a remarkable fleet of top-of-the-line bulletproof luxury Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) Akpabio already has in his official convoy, making the latest purchase superfluous and insensitive, insiders in the government reportedly told saharareporters.
The manufacturers could not be reached for the actual cost of the vans. Calls to its Texas office were unanswered. But those familiar with automobiles and their costs say Akpabio could have spent about a million dollar depending on the extent of customisation and the number of units. Pictures of the van and its customization were displayed on TAC’s facebook page as a promotion of its products and services.

In response to the N1m per person lunch money, the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, defend Akpabio, saying: “The cost of the venue and other logistics were handled by the host governor [Amaechi of Rivers] and Governor Akpabio showed his commitment to party faithful by assisting them with transport allowance as well as assisting them with some welfare.” Metuh contended that, “Politics all over the world is very expensive and any gesture towards accommodating the sacrifices of the ordinary PDP faithful is important.”
Of course, the amount of resources sunk in some of the rather inconsequential ventures is staggering if not worrisome and had sparked public range and condemnation. For instance, a body of the South-east and South-south Professionals of Nigeria [SESSPN] tagged the monetary and car gifts to Tuface and his wife, reckless.
SESSPN Publicity Secretary, Oscar Onwudiwe, said though Akpabio made impressive effort by completion his predecessor’s projects and initiated new ones, some of which are already completed, the people were shocked by the governor spends money in recent times. “We are flabbergasted by the governor’s recent show of financial indiscretion and recklessness in donating two SUVs to the musician, Tuface Idibia and his wife, Annie Macauley, during their recent traditional marriage in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom. We are equally embarrassed that the governor also sponsored a delegation of 20 people to Dubai during the wedding of the couple and to dualise the road to Annie home during their child dedication.”
Indications that all is not well with the finances of Akwa Ibom, is the speed at which Gov. Akpabio runs to the house of Assembly to ask for consent to take loans. Akwa Ibom state is the third highest paid in revenue from the federal government with N217.7billion paid in 2012. Already it has an external debt of $61m, exclusive of local debts from banks which is always higher.
Two months after he sought and got an approval for N50billion loan, he was back in the House again to seek the consent of the assemblymen to collect another N80bn loan from the banks.
The state is riddled with alarming financial misappropriation, non-implementation of budgets, corruption ridden officials and unaccountable missing state funds.
In 2010, the state government budget N2.4billion for an Akwa Ibom Science Park. This same Science Park was in the 2010 budget for the cost of N2.5bn naira, it resurfaced in the 2011 budget for N2bn naira but a visit to Uyo where the Science Park is being claimed to have been situated, will reveal an un-ploughed wide land.
In 2010, the state government budgeted N195m naira provide buses to transport school children home. In 2011, the same project was included in the budget for N200m and in 2012, it came back to budget for another N200m. Unfortunately not a single bus was bought.
The provision to feed school children were budgeted for in the 2012 budget; same 2011 for N40m and in 2010. Unfortunately not even the spoons for the food have arrived.
In 2011 the state government budget N500m for free exercise books and N1bn in 2012 for the same project. However, these books were never delivered.
For the rehabilitation of Model Secondary School Ekparakwa, a project which was embarked upon by the by the previous administration was pegged at N500m in 2011. A visit to the school site only shows nothing on ground.
The school for the physically challenged was allocated N60m in 2012 but this school is in serious state of disrepair.
In 2012, N300m was allocated for renovation and construction of the College of Arts and Science in Ikono but till now nothing has been done. Same for the Skill Acquisition Centre in Abak which got an allocation of N300m for renovation but not a single work has been carried out in the school.
Forget about Gov. Akpabio’s high profile donations and squandermania that has engulfed the state, poverty walks on the streets of Akwa Ibom just like any other Nigerian society with attendant high unemployment rates and majority living far below poverty line. In March this year, hundreds of widows in Akwa Ibom trooped to the Government House, Uyo, urging Gov. Godswill Akpabio to empower them financially to enable them establish small-scale businesses The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the widows, who came in buses from the 31 Local Government Areas in the state, could however, not see the governor. Speaking with NAN, the President of the Akwa Ibom Widows Association, Mrs Sylvia Effiong, said that they decided to bring their case to the governor as they were dying in pains and hunger without anybody to assist them.
Mrs Effiong said that they had been watching through the television how Governor Akpabio had been donating to other people and they wanted to benefit from such gesture.
According to her, “all we need is financial assistance to enable us establish small-scale businesses and feed our children.

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