SECURITY OPERATIVES STORMED AKWA-IBOM SSG’S OFFICE
A source in the Akwa Ibom Government
House in Uyo confided in Punch correspondent and said to him that Umana had been given a
24-hour ultimatum to resign his appointment or to be fired.
The source said, “The SSG has been removed. The governor has given him 24 hours to resign or face sacking.
“You can see the heavy presence of
security personnel around the Government House. The SSG office has been
sealed off. You can see that none of you were allowed to go in.”
A source in the office of the SSG
confided also in Punch correspondent and said that the Head of Civil Service, Mrs.
Cecilia Udoessien, arrived at the office of the Permanent Secretary to
the SSG at about 7am and handed the PS a redeployment letter to another
ministry.
“After Udoessien personally locked the
permanent secretary’s office, she moved ahead to drive away all
employees, who had resumed at the SSG’s office,” the source said.
Government sources in Uyo said the
decision to remove the SSG had to do with his declared interest to
contest the governorship election in the state in 2015.
Akpabio was also said to have been irked
by Umana’s refusal to accept to serve as the Managing Director of the
Niger Delta Development Commission. He was quoted as saying that
accepting the leadership of the NDDC would hinder his governorship
ambition.
At the town hall meeting held after the
inauguration of the Eket-Ibeno Road last week, the governor reportedly
told the people that he had heard that someone was going around to
declare his interest in the governorship position in 2015 and that the
person was doing so without his (Akpabio’s) knowledge and approval.
The governor also repeated same at the Peoples Democratic Party Stakeholders meeting in Uyo same last week.
Umana had reportedly told journalists in
Uyo that “I have decided to make public my intention to run for the
office of governor of Akwa Ibom State in response to the overwhelming
pressure from the good people of the three senatorial districts of the
state for me to declare my interest in the race. I wish to assure our
people that I will run for the office of governor.”
Attempts to reach the Commissioner for
Information, Mr. Aniekan Umana, and the Chief Press Secretary to
Akpabio, Mr. Anietie Ukpe, were unsuccessful as calls to their phones
were not answered. Also, they did not respond to SMS sent to them on the
issue.
But an aide to the SSG, Mr. Oliver Udokpo, said Umana had travelled to Abuja a week ago.
“We have to confirm from the
Commissioner for Information and Communications if such a thing had
happened. If there was such a thing, it is the press secretary that
would have issued a statement to that effect,” Udokpo said.
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