By Clifford Ndujihe

A LAWYER, Mr Leo Ekpenyong, has picked holes in the allegations of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, against Minister-designate, Senator Godswill Akpabio over mishandling of constituency project

SERAP’s Executive Director, Adetokumbo Mumuni (middle) during the launch of the report in Lagos.

On Sunday, SERAP petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to “jointly and urgently invite senators Godswill Akpabio and Isa Misau for interrogation and further questioning over alleged diversion of constituency projects for personal use.”

The ICPC had last week stated that it recovered from the premises and farmland allegedly belonging to the senators, equipment meant for constituency projects in some local government areas of Akwa Ibom and Bauchi states.

Countering SERAP, Mr. Ekpenyong, in a letter to the EFCC, ICPC, and Professor Itse Sagay, SAN, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, said the group’s allegations were mischievous and politically-motivated.

Enumerating Akpabio’s projects in the three senatorial districts of Akwa Ibom State between 2015 and 2019, and arguing that the senator was not the contractor that handled the project, Ekpenyong

cautioned SERAP ”to refrain from allowing itself to be used as a willing tool in the hands of attention-seeking, desperate politicians.”

”We challenge SERAP therefore, to prove its claim without which we will be compelled to seek lawful redress against their spurious, irrational and irritating tissue of blatant lies,” he said.

Ekpenyong, who is also the managing director, De-bongos Media, said the incessant calls and smear campaigns against Akpabio started shortly before his nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari for ministerial appointment and was amplified immediately thereafter.

The letter read in part: ”An in depth but independent investigation into the false allegations of SERAP reveals that they are not only economical with the truth, but have become an appendage and willing tool in the hands of vendetta-seeking, dubious and desperate politicians. We are aware that a certain public servant currently serving in President Buhari’s government, having failed in his lobbying for ministerial appointment is disgruntled and has resorted to inundating media houses and venal civil society groups with spurious claims of graft against Senator Akpabio.

This veiled, subterranean antics of this known politician includes leading campaigns of vicious calumny replete with malicious intent to traduce the character of a man who has been vindicated by his proven records of inimitable and outstanding performance.

”Senator Akpabio was neither the contractor nor was he involved in the contract execution process. Secondly, the supplies of hospital equipments, provision of solar- powered boreholes, VIP toilets, construction of markets across the 10 local government areas of Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial district, donation of skills acquisition/recreational centres are all eloquent expressions of Senator Akpabio’s stellar performance just in four years.

”To further demonstrate his magnanimity and undying love for his people beyond boundaries, Akpabio donated an ambulance with medical components comprising 150 mattresses and pillows to the Cottage hospital in Ibiono -Ibom local government area where Senator Ita Enang hails from. Others include staff executive chairs, air-conditioners etc.

”It should be noted also that the above mentioned hospital equipment and facilities donated to Ibiono- Ibom local government area is situated in Uyo senatorial district where Senator Godswill Akpabio neither hails from nor represent. In furtherance of his uncommon gesture of positively touching and affecting the lives of his people in the most uncommon ways, he extended life touching and transformational facilities and amenities to the third Senatorial District (Eket Senatorial District) where he built, renovated and furnished dilapidated classroom blocks with state of the art borehole and water storage facilities in Community Secondary School, Udung-Uko Local Government Area.

”In Governor Udom Emmanuel’s Onna Local Government Area, still in Eket Senatorial District where Senator Akpabio neither hails from nor represents, Awa Comprehensive Health Centre received the following: 150 pieces of standard hospital mattresses, 300 pieces of pillows, 300 pieces of bedsheets and blankets, 150 hospital beds, supply of drugs for Primary Health Centre, 30 standard drip stands, 20 ward screen, 20 drugs trolleys, one Ambulance with 102Hp petrol engine, six split unit air conditioners, one Haematology Analysers (Abacus 380), one Chemistry (STAT TAX330), one Dectrolyte Analyzers (IONYTL), one Elisa Systems (STAT FAX 4200, Micro plate reader), one Microbiology (Lisa Scam Em Erba), one Blood Bank (Cool storage instruments), one Urinanalysis Machine (Urinanalysis Urd – Dipcheck 240E), one Pharmacy Refrigerator(IPR225 Helmer Pharmacy Refrigerator), one Biosafety Cabinet (Lamil Plus 7), and two Microscope (Binocular Microscope Theia – 1)” among others.

Ekpenyong added that Akpabio provided hospital equipments at at Cottage Hospital, Awa Iman, Onna Local Government Area of Eket Senatorial District, and Community Hospital, Ikot Uba, Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, Uyo Senatorial District.

Pathetic! ‘Fire from seized oil deforming children in Delta communities’(Opens in a new browser tab)

Other projects executed by the minister-designate, he said included giving 11,600 people N10,000 each alongside start-up packs in collaboration with the National Directorate of Employment, NDE;

giving 1,200 people N100,00 cash gift each for entrepreneurship development of various vocations; and giving 274 indigent students a scholarship of N100,000 each.

”From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that Senator Akpabio has not only accomplished his mandate to justify the confidence reposed in him by his people but expanded the frontiers of benevolence for the positive transformation of Akwa Ibom State. Against this background, we frown at SERAP’s orchestrated cheap blackmail and brazen display of infantile mischief,” the lawyer added.

Vanguard