The Many Scam Of His Government
It is no longer news that Akpabio and his family squander the riches of Akwa Ibom State with reckless abandon. To what end do they squander the money? Close watchers liken the scenario to what was common in the colonial era when the colonial masters were only interested in milking the colonised people of their natural resources with reckless abandon, while the people remained impoverished and without a future.
The nonsensical argument of Governor Akpabio that he has constructed x number of roads, fly overs, etc is just a ruse for the ignorant. What Roads? Even in his native Annang land, he has completely ignored Ukanafun, Ika, Etim Ekpo and Oruk Anam Local Government Areas.
According to eye witness initiated by LVIT, the roads in these areas are just sore reminders of the historic times, a little more than bush tracks owing to increased traffic to the urban centers! With money in trillions and billions of US Dollars coming to Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to date, can anybody rightly claim that Gov. Akpabio can justify it with what is on the ground in a State that is just 3.7 million in population?
Let us be honest with ourselves, nobody of good conscience should allow the brigandage to go unredressed. The Governor’s imprint must be measured in terms of matchable projects and funds. All the Roads and other projects on the ground cannot be more than N300 Billion. Is it the Tropicana project you want to assess first? Any valuer would easily tell you that what is on the ground, in the name of Tropicana is not worth more than N400 million Naira.
Yet this is a Project that was originally estimated at N33 Billion and later increased to N67 billion, without any changes on the ground! What about the Airport project? Other States like Ondo, Delta, Imo got their Airports at reasonable cost. Not so in Akwa Ibom. The Governor wanted Akwa Ibom Airport to be a hub for maintenance and repairs of Aircrafts in the Gulf of Guinea Region; whatever that means.
The result is a maintenance hanger that is hanging loose and uncompleted. An average Airport construction should not cost more than N5 billion. Our own Airport so far has gulped more than N500 billion. Little wonder Akpabio has been unable to come out with a White Paper after the Commission of Inquiry he instituted to probe Governor Attah’s modest expenditure on the Airport.
How about the Ibom Power Company Ltd.; a company already completed by Governor Attah. To bring power from the project has been an issue since Akpabio took over in 2007. Yet about N300 billion has been spent on the project with no power. There was the charade in 2008 about Akwa Ibom State being the first State in Nigeria to obtain the license to operate an Independent power Station.
The list is endless. The Inter-ministerial Direct Labour contract is a scam, pure and simple. It was conceived to dish out patronage to his praise singers without any iota of control. Imagine a situation where roofing contracts are awarded on the same projects twice, thrice, etc at the rate of N20 million for a regular classroom block? Where is all the money going?
Akpabio traverses the entire country in a private jet. His wife travels in another, in the fleet run by Canadians. He spends more time in Abuja and Lagos where his real property business is most pronounced in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Banana Island. He spends a lot of time in Europe and America. those who know him at close quarters say he is on the ground in Silicon valley, home to some of the richest technology gurus in the United States. money laundering in the West is not so easy these days; that is where Nsentip Akpabio comes in handy. He is designated as the Laundering arm of the Akpabio Estate. They patronize Caribbean countries, where in Island of Pith and David, Akpabio was treated like a visiting sovereign President; China, India and Cuba, known for their relaxed attitude to money crimes are ready to accommodate the Akpabio clan.
What is the background of someone who will show so much insensitivity to the people with so much kleptomania? Experts say such a person is generally a compulsive liar; most likely to have engaged in the Advance Fee Fraud, generally known as 419 and probably has not done any successful business before in his life. Whether Governor Akpabio and perhaps his brothers fit into the Expert description remains for the readers to judge.
Liberty Voice Investigative Team is Commissioned by:
Uwem Sam
Libery Voice
Los Angeles
