By Egufe Yafugborhi

UYO — ONE year after the recovery of four Akwa Ibom State-owned fire fighting trucks that were stolen and leased to a private firm in Rivers State, some stakeholders in the state have taken a swipe at Governor Umo Eno and the Police for not taking any action against the apprehended suspects, including unnamed government officials.

Recall that the Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Baba Azare, had announced the arrest of suspects and recovery of the stolen trucks earlier in January.

However, the coordinator of the Niger Delta Peace Coalition, NDPC, Mr Zik Gbemre, who spoke to Vanguard yesterday, accused the governor of aiding and abetting government corruption against his professed commitment to transparency and accountability.

Reacting to the development, Gbemre said: “It’s sheer conspiracy to aid and abet corruption. Governor Eno wasn’t at the helm of affairs during the period the trucks were reported stolen, but he was a serving cabinet member at that time, under his predecessor, Governor Udom Emmanuel.

“The  Commissioner for Works and Fire Service at the time the firefighting equipment went missing, Prof Eno Ibanga, is still holding the same office under the administration of Governor Eno. 

“So under their watch, in a state grossly ill-equipped to respond to fire outbreaks, four firefighting trucks crept out of the State’s Fire Service and disappeared with the government and its officials not noticing.

“And for three years, a syndicate involving apprehended officials of the Fire Service and a company rep rented the stolen equipment and were smiling to the bank at N140,000 per day. They grossed an estimated N153,300,000 while Akwa Ibomites were losing lives and properties to poor state response to fire outbreaks.

“Now, the Police were informed about the racket, arrested the culprits and recovered the trucks. It’s been a year since CP Azare vowed to charge the arrested suspects to court. 

“But nothing is heard of the case, not even the identity of the suspected government officials or the Port Harcourt companies to which the equipment was leased is made public.

“How else do you define government corruption? One year later, Governor Eno and his commissioner in charge of the trucks stay silent on the case.”