…Warns that govt won’t replace newly- installed vandalised transformers

By Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo

GOVERNOR Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has explained that programmes initiated by his administration to support the citizens are  supposed to be for everyone irrespective of the political party.

Eno, according to a statement made available to newsmen by Government House Press corps on Sunday spoke weekend while addressing worshippers at the Governor’s Lodge, Uyo during the Government House monthly prayer service.

He said he has received complaints that some people have hijacked the programme initiated to help elderly citizens of the state with their medication, stressing that the initiative was not supposed to be for members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) alone.

His words, “Every month, each local government gives us at least fifteen elderly people so that we can help them with their medications. We give them fifty thousand naira each a month. It is our ARISE initiative for the elderly, but we have received complaints that people have high jacked the process.

“Please, allow the process to run. One person cannot bring fifteen people. What is wrong with a local government chairman going to the Paramount ruler, sit with him and make the selection?

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“It is not supposed to be a PDP thing. State government programmes are not meant for PDP members alone, it is meant for everybody. So please, select old men and women across the wards, let them come and get the money.

 “Recreational activities are also organised during the meeting so that they can go home with joy in their hearts. So please, I ask that the coordinators should bring people together and not just deal with only one family. We mean well for our people and they should benefit from these programmes”

The Governor according to the statement noted that the list of projects that would be commissioned to mark his one year anniversary in office would soon be made public.

“A lot of people are asking us, what is your legacy project? For me, our legacy project is rural development. Everybody has his own style. The current reality demands that we do soft infrastructure. I call them soft infrastructure because you can do those hard ones and before people will use them, they are dead.

“That is not to say that we won’t do what we wanted to do. As we step into the second year, we are stepping up on what we want to do in line with our ARISE Agenda,” Eno explained.

Decrying activities of vandals in the communities, Eno charged the communities and stakeholders to complement government efforts by protecting public assets in their domains, especially electricity transformers, warning that his administration would not replace newly- installed transformers that have been vandalised.

 According to Eno, “there is so much request for transformers and there are communities that were given transformers already. I know the last administration bought well over two hundred (200) transformers. They distributed these transformers, and installed them but people have vandalized some.

“People live in these communities, so when government brings transformer to your community and you cannot watch over it, or set up a system to protect it, and they are vandalized, you come again.

“Understand that we have many communities in this state, and would not replace newly-installed transformers if the people there don’t know the value of transformers.

“You need to form a neighbourhood watch or vigilante to protect those transformers and other government assets around you.

These facilities belong to all of us, so be interested in them.”

 Continuing, he explained that findings have revealed that everyone kidnapped in the State, 20 percent happened by chance while 80 percent followed information from people around the victim, and therefore advised the citizens to take issue of security consciousness seriously.

He also advised everyone to minimize the publication of personal information on the social media as such constitutes security risk.

He appreciated the Guest Minister, and Senior Pastor of Precious Faith Int’l Church Rev. Emmanuel Iniama, for his message, as well as  all the worshipers for participating in the April service.

Earlier in his message on the theme, “Deliverance from Wicked and Unreasonable Men,” Rev. Iniama said such men are everywhere and only through prayers, discernment, fasting could one be delivered from them.