Gov Udom denies asking cabinet members to show interest in 2023 election

The Akwa Ibom State Government has debunked a publication saying that Governor Udom Emmanuel called on members of his executive council who had political ambitions in 2023 to indicate their interest. 

The government also denied the claim that the focus of the retreat held by the State Executive Council was on the political ambition of some persons in the state, and interview attributed to the Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources in the said publication.  

Speaking through a press release on Tuesday in Uyo, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Ini Ememobong demanded a retraction of the publication and an apology from the Vanguard newspaper over the said report which had no byline.  

Ememobong who explained that the retreat was an opportunity for members of the State Executive Council to equip themselves for greater efficiency in the discharge of their responsibilities to the people of the state, urged the public to ignore the publication designed to cause mischief. 

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“We have read an online report, without the reporter’s identity, published by vanguardngr.com on January 24, 2022, alleging that the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Udom Emmanuel had asked members who had political ambitions in 2023 to indicate. 

“The report recorded that the Honourable Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, Pastor Umo Eno granted an interview wherein he made some claims relating to some of his colleagues and the 2023 elections. 

“The event referred to in the report was the retreat of the State Executive Council of the Akwa Ibom State Government, which had in attendance all members of the State Executive Council, Chairmen of Technical Committees and the EXCO Secretariat only.  

“At no time during the retreat which had as its focus, ‘Teaming for Excellence’, did any discussion on the political ambition of anybody coming up. What transpired at the retreat was the delivery of seminal lectures by a highly intellectual faculty and a comprehensive presentation of the status report of all ministries and ongoing projects. 

“Furthermore, the Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, who has been quoted massively in the report, has denied granting an interview to anyone, through any medium, after the retreat. 

“It is therefore unbelievable to read such a report, which stated utter falsehood from an otherwise credible medium like Vanguardngr.com. To this end, we state as follows: 

“That the report is false, misleading, and capable of tarnishing the image of the entire Executive Council of Akwa Ibom State, painting them as those who use public resources to create an environment for the discussion of personal or group interest. 

“That the Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, Pastor Umo Eno has denied granting the said interview and therefore could not have made the statements accredited to him.  

Ipso facto, we demand the following: “An immediate retraction of the story and an apology to the State Government and all the individuals mentioned in the report. OR 

“The audio recording of the interview alleged to have been granted by the Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, Pastor Umo Eno. 

“We urge the public to ignore the story and treat same as evidence of the imaginative capacity of the author, whose only aim as can be deciphered from the report, is mischief,” the statement read.  

As the build-up to the 2023 elections gather momentum, it has been rumoured in some quarters that the Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, Pastor Umo Eno is Governor Udom Emmanuel’s favoured candidate for the 2023 Gubernatorial elections under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).  

However, Gov. Emmanuel has announced severally in different fora that he has no successor or anointed candidate and would not want to be distracted from his completion agenda for the state by calls for him to pick a successor.