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| Godswill Akpabio |
By
Ibanga Isine
An
Abuja-based lawyer, Leo Ekpenyong, has threatened to take legal action against
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, if it fails to investigate
a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio.
Mr.
Ekpenyong, who said he has sent several petitions to the commission without any
action taken on them, vowed to use every legal instrument available to ensure
that Mr. Akpabio is probed.
He
has severally accused the former governor of financial recklessness and
corruption while in office.
In
a four-page petition dated June 8, which was copied to President Muhammadu
Buhari and sent to PREMIUM TIMES, the legal practitioner called for an
immediate investigation and prosecution of Mr. Akpabio.
He
said Mr. Akpabio became governor when Akwa Ibom led in revenue accruals among
the 36 states of the Federation.
“The
former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala had confirmed to the whole world that our state’s revenue surpassed
the entire yearly budgets of some African nations,” Mr. Ekpenyong wrote.
“She
went on to confirm that the so much hyped ‘uncommon transformation’ in the
state does not constitute 10 percent of what Akpabio got from the federation
account alone.”
He
argued that Mr. Akpabio never debunked the fact that he received the largest
chunk of revenue from the Federation Accounts, adding that over N3 trillion
accrued to the state in eight years.
Mr.
Ekpenyong insisted that what the former governor alone received in eight years
was five times higher than what Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states got
during the same period.
He,
therefore, called on the EFCC to take a second look at the “uncommon
transformation” of Mr. Akpabio and judge if the state had a commensurate return
for the funds that came to its coffers.
Mr.
Ekpenyong listed some of the sins of the former governor to include lack of
accountability, fiscal irresponsibility, diversion of local government funds,
and acquisition of personal assets using state funds and using state funds to
stoke political conflicts.
He
said the Akpabio administration rarely held State Executive Council meetings,
adding that for eight years, the former governor ran the government as his
personal estate.
The
legal practitioner said that revenue accruals, spending and the debt profile of
the state have remained top secret that are only known to Mr. Akpabio.
He
dismissed the story that 80 percent of the state’s budget went into capital
spending, saying Mr. Akpabio overpriced almost every project he embarked upon.
Mr.
Ekpenyong said the former governor deducted millions of naira from salaries of
local council staff across the state under an imaginary pension scheme and
bribed council chairmen with N100 million when they questioned the fake pension
scheme.
He
accused Mr. Akpabio of using Nestoil as a surrogate firm to acquire 10 percent
equity in Julius Berger Nigerian Plc while also building a 25 storey complex in
Victoria Island, Lagos, using the oil firm as a front.
Before
he became governor, he said Mr. Akpabio had a three-bedroom bungalow valued at
N1.5million in his home town in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area.
But
during his eight-year reign, he said the governor built a N7.5billion personal
estate and acquired properties across the country as well as in Ghana, St.
Kitts and Nevis Island, United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
During
his tenure, Mr. Ekpenyong said Mr. Akpabio not only stole Akwa Ibom State
funds, but also allowed his siblings to loot the state.
For
instance, he said Emem Akpabio, who was a middle-level staff of Shell Petroleum
Development Corporation, had within eight years turned into a multi-billionaire
owning a N10.5 billion housing estate in Ukana.
He
listed other billionaire Akpabios who hitherto had no meaningful jobs to
include Nsentip and Prince, adding that even the governor’s former personal
assistant, Emmanuel Inyangetor, is now a multi-billionaire.
Mr.
Ekpenyong said it was the former governor who deployed Akwa Ibom State funds to
sponsor the removal of former Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako.
He
also accused Mr. Akpabio of bankrolling the failed impeachment plots against
former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Nasarawa State
Governor, Tanko Almakura.
According
to the lawyer, it was Mr. Akpabio who sponsored the removal of the former
National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bamanga Tukur, from
office.
“He
was seen as ‘Father Christmas’ in the PDP circle and so, whenever it was time
to bring money, ‘our money-miss-road’ governor was always on hand to help.
“Please
take notice that this petition is one in a series of several other earlier
petitions sent to the commission without any consequential appropriate action.
We
will not hesitate to take legal action to compel the commission to unravel and
recover monies misappropriated by the corrupt Akpabio-led administration in
line with Mr. President’s anti-corruption agenda.”
In
a reaction, the former Chief Press Secretary to the former governor, Anietie Ukpe,
said Mr. Ekpenyong has an unstable character.
“I
don’t know which Barrister Leo you are talking about because there was somebody
who was involved in blackmail with the name of Mr. Leo. I don’t know if it is
the same person you are talking about but if he is the one, then he is a very
unstable character.
“That
is the same person who was running around Barrister Andem Andem. He is a
bundle of lies. How can anybody say that it was Akpabio that sponsored the
removal of Amaechi when there was a functional system in that state?”
Mr.
Ukpe, argued that it would not have been possible for a governor from another
state to dictate to assembly members from another state to impeach their
governor.
“It
doesn’t make any sense except that it is a product of ignorance and mischief,”
he said.
Culled from Premium Times
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