Akwa Ibom State Government has denied reports in some sections of the media, particularly, a banner headline which appeared in The Sun newspaper of Tuesday, January 3, in which it was alleged that the governor had declare a war on President Mohammed Buhari’s men.
In a statement signed by Ekerete Udoh, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Udom Emmanuel, the state government said:
“While we do not disagree or join issues with the fundamental points made by His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel during the Solemn Assembly as reported by the media on the need for those who have been privileged to hold political appointments across the board to show civility and respect for constituted authority, we wish to state that the statement was not meant to declare war on the President’s men as reported by The Sun, rather, the statement was meant to appeal to their higher ideals and not to traffic in base sentiments capable of puncturing the fabric of the society and causing disaffection in the process.
“Any political appointee of the President who goes about inciting the people against the government of his or her home state, or making incendiary or disparaging remarks about the office and the person of the Governor of a state is doing a disservice to the President and we know the President will not tolerate such tendencies by his appointees.
“In all democracies including the mature ones, people disagree on ideology and fundamental issues; however, there is always a zone of privacy where political gladiators don’t cross. In Akwa Ibom State, unfortunately, these lines have been breached and appointees from the other side of the political divide have taken it as an abiding article of faith to insult, demonize, call the Governor names and manufacture all manner of lies and subterfuge against the Governor of the state. No one is saying they should not criticize the activities of government, this is expected in a democracy, but doing so with malice, with manifest hatred and insulting at random the person and character of a duly elected Governor cannot and will not be tolerated by government. That was the main import of His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel’s message during the Solemn Assembly.”