From Joe Effiong, Uyo

The former minister of lands, housing and urban development. Chief Nduese Essien has advised the president of senate, Sen Godswill Akpabio, to reduce his loquaciousness and rather learn to listen more to his colleagues in the national assembly.

Chief Essien who chose the channel of “An Open Letter’ to address Akpabio on many instances of verbal carelessness, explained that for the senate president to succeed in upholding the principles of transparency, accountability and justice, and ensure that the legislature functions as true bastion od democracy, “you must speak less and listen to your colleagues more.”

“In a televised plenary session last Tuesday, you told Nigerians that you had received an unverified report about the purported allocation of N30 billion to each governor of the Federation by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to mitigate inflation and food prices in their states.

“Before making such a public statement, you as the leader of the Nigerian legislature and one of the highest-ranking officials in the current administration should have thoroughly verified such a claim. The subsequent rebuttal of this claim by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and the loud silence from All Progressives Congress (APC) governors suggest you did not double-check the information before giving it the public.

“This serious error, along with previous blunders, harms your leadership reputation. I urge you to stop making hasty and unfounded claims that could inflame tensions or damage the government and the institution you represent. It is important to apply caution when we speak as leaders.”

The former minister who is also a former chairman of the South-South caucus of the national assembly while representing Eket federal constituency between 1999 and 2007, said he was compelled by a sense of duty to address the inconsistencies that have come characterise Akpabio’s political expressions, particularly within his home state, Akwa Ibom.

“Your Excellency, during the 36th Anniversary Thanksgiving service of our state creation at the Apostolic Church in Uyo in 2023, you declared, ‘all local government areas in the state as oil producing, and that there should be no distinction among them in terms of sharing of resources or benefits.’

I was shocked because throughout your eight years as Governor of the state, you never said so though you were blatant in depriving the oil producing areas of their rights.

“You refused to establish the Oil Minerals Producing Areas Commission in the state, despite demands and pressures, thus making Akwa Ibom the only oil producing state without this commission. You also diverted most of the NDDC projects to non-oil producing areas of the state. It is now clear how and why you operated that way.

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“While you have been an apostle of ‘every local government in Akwa Ibom being oil-producing,’ can you now reconcile your claim on the floor of the Senate that the whole of Nigeria is not oil-producing?

“In the same service, you directed the state Governor not to implement the law establishing the authentic political map of the state. The law was promulgated by the State House of Assembly in 2023. As a lawyer, former commissioner for local government and former Governor, you cannot deny knowledge of Stubbs Creek Forest and its ownership. Yet as President of Senate which is the country’s foremost lawmaking body, you were asking the governor to disobey a law legitimately made by the state legislature. Would you ask President Bola Tinubu not to implement a law legitimately passed by the National Assembly?

“Your Excellency, you will agree with me that this is not just the highest level of inconsistency, but also a baseless call for executive rascality and rebellion against the rule of law, and you should be conscious of the consequences.”

“Mr. President, you were a commissioner in the administration when this flourishing hotel was thrown away for a paltry N50 million.

“Immediately after that administration you were Governor for eight years and never talked about the Qua River Hotel. Rather, you embarked on the high-rise Tropicana Recreation Centre in the heart of Uyo, against all entreaties, and without completing it. In the twilight of your administration, you embarked on the Four Point Hotel close to your domain and commissioned it without completion. At that time, Qua River Hotel did not still cross your mind. Why now?

“Your Excellency, there is a disturbing video currently circulating in the state where you told Oron leaders that Mobil Producing Nigeria now ExxonMobil was supposed to locate its office in Oron but was taken to Eket because of politics.

“To the best of my knowledge, you were about five years old when the decision was taken. Agreed, there were alternative locations for the company to choose from. But investment decisions for a renowned multinational corporation like Mobil, are not taken on the spur of the moment or weighted in favour of political considerations as is done in Government House.

“As Governor for eight years, it was surprising that you made no effort to change the wrong political judgement and never compensated the Oron people for the perceived unfair treatment. Again, in 2014 when you had unfettered political authority to pick and install an Oron man as governor, you never did so. Why are you inciting divisive sentiments among our people in a peaceful state to destabilise it now?”

Essien warned Akpabio that in his quest to take over Akwa Ibom in 2027, “these unamusing pranks will not be compelling enough to attract support. Oron is populated by intelligent and politically savvy people.”

“The 2027 Akwa Ibom governorship election will be more complex than the ’Warsaw War’ of 2019, which you lost. I, therefore, advise you to apply a little caution; concentrate more on national politics to assist in rescuing the nation from its self -imposed predicaments.”