Breaking News: How A’Ibom governor tried to stop Planet FM interview with Ita Enang

By Nse Peter

Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel allegedly tried to stop Planet 101.1 FM, Uyo, from airing its live interview with President Buhari’s Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang, Think Akwa Ibom! have been informed.

Mr. Enang, a former senator who represented Uyo Senatorial District, was a studio guest, Saturday, in the radio station interview programme “Community Views”.

Enang’s remarks, especially concerning the DSS controversial raid on the Akwa Ibom Government House is said to have rattled Governor Emmanuel and his political associates which prompted the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah to quickly put a call through to the private radio station asking them to discontinue the interview, a source close to the commissioner told Think Akwa Ibom!

Enang, while defending the reported search on Akwa Ibom Government House by the DSS, said the immunity which the state governor has does not extend to buildings such as government house, government guest houses and government secretariats. He said the search by the secret service was on the state government-owned presidential lodge where Gov. Emmanuel’s predecessor, Godswill Akpabio is housed, and not the official residence of the governor.

“The elders of Akwa Ibom should endeavour to tell the people the truth that the government house has no immunity, that the governor (Udom Emmanuel) is yet to officially occupy the government house,” Enang said, while explaining that the DSS is empowered by the Nigerian constitution to search any location, including government houses, in the country.

The source who informed Think Akwa Ibom! how the state information commissioner tried to stop the radio station from continuing with its interview with Enang, said from Mr. Umanah’s telephone conversation, he was able to deduce that Planet FM wasn’t ready to give in to the government demand.

“From what he (Aniekan Umanah) was saying I could sense that he was disappointed with whoever he was on phone with. He was telling the person that Ita Enang was part of APC’s script to destabilise the government of Udom Emmanuel,” the source said, while quoting the commissioner as saying “the governor feels disappointed that Planet FM has allowed itself to be used as a platform for the opposition in the state”.

Planet FM is yet to respond to Think Akwa Ibom!’s enquiry on the issue.

However, immediately after its interview with Enang, the radio station aired a curious announcement debunking ‘claims’ that they had bias for a particular political party in Akwa Ibom State. The station later went ahead, Sunday, to do a repeat broadcast of the interview with Enang.

Planet FM was involved in a similar controversy, January 2014, when it was accused of blocking Senator Aloysius Etok from speaking on a scheduled live interview allegedly on the orders of the Akwa Ibom State government, during the administration of Godswill Akpabio.