Mr. Akpabio had stunned guests that thronged the Apostolic High School, Esit Urua Community venue, along Eket-Ibeno Road, for the traditional wedding of the celerity couple with the announcement of a donation of two brand new Toyota Prado SUVs to them.
Related Article: Governor Akpabio Presents 2 Toyota SUVs To Tuface And Wife
The lucky couple are also to travel in the luxury of the company of 29 delegates from Akwa Ibom to the United Arab Emirate, UAE, courtesy of the governor, who also promised to throw the state’s treasury open to bankroll an all-expense paid trip for the white wedding scheduled for March 23 in Dubai.
The Eket-Ibeno Road, which has remained in a bad state for a long time, is to be fully rehabilitated before the next child dedication ceremony of the couple, the governor said.
Although a couple of loyalists commended the governor, commonly derisively called “the uncommon transformer” in the state, for his reckless spending of state funds, a cross-section of other Nigerians have described the gesture as “misplaced priority”, “wasteful” and “abuse of public trust” in the management of state resources.
No official justification
The state Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, did not respond to calls and text messages for official explanation regarding why the governor made the extravagant gesture in a state where salaries to civil servants are known to be consistently irregular.
A supporter of the governor, Egondu Okorie, was excited about the governor’s gesture, expressing disappointment in his Facebook page at those he said were making “shallow minded comments”, which he noted would not happen in civilized societies.
Another supporter, Ikazoboh Victor, blamed poverty for the comments by some of the governor’s critics, who condemned the donation, saying that “there is no big deal about just two SUVs as wedding gift”.
A self-serving ego trip
But not everybody is impressed, with some describing the gifts as outrageous.
“This is absolute rubbish”, an apparently angry Mary Udom said. “These (Tuface and wife) are no poor people. I don’t see why Akpabio is doing such a thing. If it were an ordinary man’s wedding, he (Akpabio) won’t even send a gift, talkless of giving cars.”
For Obo Effanga, Governance Manager, Action Aid Nigeria, the governor’s action is embarrassing, as it defeats the purpose for good governance, particularly in the allocation of resources.
“This is very embarrassing indeed! If governance is about being in a position to take decisions in the interest of the people of the state, when a governor allocates public resources to individuals because of their closeness to him, how does this enhance that purpose and the interest of the ordinary citizens in the state, on whose behalf the governor claimed he was making the donation?,” Mr Effanga said.
“It is even awkward that he donated two different cars to the couple, who, by virtue of their wedding, are supposed to be one in line with the marriage principle. He could as well have donated two different houses to them, as if he wants them to live separately!
"THE CITIZENS ARE WALLOWING IN ABJECT POVERTY, THE FLAMBOYANT GOVERNOR IS BUSY SPENDING THE STATE'S MONEY FOR UNNECESSARY THINGS. GOD U DEY O" I REST MY CASE.
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