Sahara Reporters Sponsored smear campaign against Governor Udom Emmanuel

By Okon Tom
For some time now, Sahara Reportersowned by Omoyele Sowore has been on a mission to smear and disparage the sterling image and reputation of the Governor of Akwa Ibom state,  Mr. Udom Emmanuel through the publication of insidious and factually vacuous reports.
When Sahara Reporters  made its debut almost ten years ago, it was a desirable platform whose citizens’ journalism and activism reminded one of the America’s Muck-raking at the turn of the Twentieth Century, whose reportage and its messianic mission was to sanitize the stench that had arisen from the Gilded Age capitalism that had run amok, and to help push the agenda of the Progressive Era in American politics.
The activities of the Muck-rakers whose motto was to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” profoundly changed the way public policy was formulated and made America a more humane society where capitalism had a human face with attendant corporate social responsibly.
The great thing with Muck-rakers was that they concentrated their reportage on issues and not on individuals; their reports were not coloured by prejudice or a mission to witch-hunt or to carry the agenda of certain individuals or groups and use such to hound, blackmail or out rightly publish falsehood about certain individuals whom they don’t agree with or whose politics they don’t like.
Sahara Reporters which fashioned itself along the lines of Muck-rakers have since lost its initial luster, credibility and integrity. It has descended to a platform where truth is violated, where facts are no longer sacred. Sahara Reporters seem to have singled out Akwa Ibom State and the PDP-led government of Governor Udom Emmanuel and has engaged in serial witch-hunting and nit-picking expedition to create issues where such does not exist.
Last year, Sahara Reporters acting the script of its sponsors went to town with a false report that the immediate past Governor of Akwa Ibom State, the Senate Minority Leader, and Senator Godswill Akpabio’s election had been nullified by the Appeal Court.  To show how reckless it has been with facts, and in a hurry to carry out the agenda of its sponsors, the editors did not care to tell its readers that the Appeal Court had not yet met, and as a matter of fact, the case was not billed for hearing until the next day, yet Sahara Reporters published the false story and had eggs thrown all over its face.
One would have thought that having eaten the humble pie that the editors of theSahara Reporters would be more circumspect with facts, but they seem to be in a hurry to manufacture more lies and massage the ego of their sponsors.
Consider the latest publication where it stated that Governor Udom Emmanuel had completed and furnished a mansion four months after taking office. It was the same Sahara Reporters that said the ‘’mansion”  was constructed shortly after he was sworn in. Now, they are saying he built the mansion four months after he was inaugurated.
Governor Udom Emmanuel until he was appointed the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government (SSG) and subsequently elected the Governor of Akwa Ibom State April 11, 2015 was a hugely successful Financial Services Stakeholder. He was on the board of numerous highly profitable companies and was the Executive Director of easily one of the most consequential banks in Africa-Zenith.
Governor Emmanuel is a known philanthropist who had touched thousands of lives and his work in the vineyard of the Lord is legendary. Are the editors ofSahara Reporters saying that Governor Udom Emmanuel cannot afford a regular four -bedroom home?
There is no doubt that the editors ofSahara Reporters are writing the scripts of its sponsors, but they should be reminded that the election of 2015 has been won and lost and engaging in some wild goose chase is nothing but an exercise in futility.
The editors of Sahara Reporters should challenge their sponsors to prove to Nigerians that they are capable of leading our people and ensuring a future where they can aspire and dream. They should ask Nigerians if they are better off today than they were a year ago instead of engaging in obtuse and inane witch-hunt. They should train their guns on some of its sponsors who are unable to pay salaries of their workers or where a huge disconnect exits between the expectations of the led and the leaders.
 Governor Udom Emmanuel has in the face of dwindling resources, managed to pay workers salaries and compensations, kept his campaign promises and one would love to extend an invitation to the editors of the Sahara Reporters to come to Akwa Ibom State and see what Governor Udom Emmanuel has achieved through infrastructural expansion and concrete industrialization push in  just eleven months.  That way, they will be forced to challenge their sponsors and tell them to leave Akwa Ibom State alone, that Governor Udom Emmanuel is working and the people are happy and in support of his efforts.
Mr. Okon Tom is a public affairs analyst, based in Lagos

AKWA IBOM IS GREEN WITH INVESTMENT PROSPECTS - NIGERIA POLICE BOSS

The Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase on a visit on Wednesday to the Akwa Ibom State Governor at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Uyo, described described Akwa Ibom as a green environment with natural attraction for investors.
The number one Police Cops who did not mince words on his emotional attachment to
the State described his Stay as Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State as a preparatory ground for the discharge of his duties as Inspector General of Police in the country.
“Since I left here, I have been interested in happenings within the State because of my emotional attachment to Akwa Ibom State. Most of the things I did while I was here as Commissioner of Police, was as if I was rehearsing what I would operationalize when I become the Inspector General. So it is very easy for me to take a look at what I did in Akwa Ibom State and replicate it at the National level .”
The Police Boss acknowledged that Akwa Ibom State has become a green spot which has attracted foreign investors and sued for continuous strengthening of the security structure stressing that no State can develop socially, economically and politically without a strong security syste.

The Akwa Ibom State Governor Mr Udom Emmanuel lauded the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force for their ingenuity in mitigating crime in the state to pave way for investors visiting the State to explore the abundant green investment opportunities for their businesses.

He congratulated Mr Arase on his elevation to the highest hierarchy in the Nigeria Police Force attributing his meteoric rise in the profession to his devotion to duty and application of professionalism in combating crime in the country adding that Mr Arase aptly demonstrated this during his brief tenure as Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command. "You have passed through the Force and the Force has passed through you that is why you are one of the best Inspector General of Police Nigeria has ever had. I want to congratulate you on behalf of the people of Akwa Ibom State, we are proud of your achievements and records" He remarked.
The Governor who described the Police Inspector General’s working-visit to the State as home coming charged public officers to strive to leave positive legacies wherever they serve. "You left us as Commissioner and now you are visiting as lnspector General of Police. This warm reception accorded you by the people of the State should be a great lesson for other public officers. In what ever we do, let us believe that we need fellow human beings to succeed." He said the legacies left behind by Mr Arase was evergreen in the hearts of every Akwa Ibom citizen.
The State Governor announced plans to relocate the A' Division of the Police Barracks and the Federal Prisons along Wellington Bassey Way to a befitting location to make way for expansion work at the Government House. "We have acquired land and we want to build something better than what we are seeing presently at that barrack. The Station was built over fifty years ago, the structure there is at variance with contemporary Architecture" .
He commended the Police Inspector General for giving approval for the commencement of the project. His words, We notified you that we wanted to relocate the barracks near Government House so that we can extend the Government House a little further, you did not hesitate to give us approval. Negotiation is on with the Nigerian Prisons that is why we have not stated work there. I assure you that we will give you a modern structure worth your approval.
He said his administration has allotted a prime place for security in all plans and policies and is committed to supporting security agencies in the State to carry out their duties effectively.
"Our State is rated green today in terms of security. Security to us is uppermost in our daily reviews and plans. Even in the prevailing fuel scarcity, I don’t think the Police Force has experienced it because we have established fuel dump in all the barracks to enhance their smooth operations. My kudos goes to your men and the Commissioner of Police . As a Governor, I will stop at nothing to attain to the welfare needs of the Police because they have committed their all to fight crime in the state, He stated.
The State Chief Executive expressed appreciation to the Police Boss for the morale booster to officers of the force by providing scholarship and residential Estates on owner occupier bases and assured of land for the construction of the apartments for the Officers in the state.


Mr Arase expressed appreciation to the people for the honour done him and commended Governor Emmanuel for his support to the Akwa Ibom State Command of the Nigeria Police Force explaining that he decided not sit at the comfort of his office to conceptualise internal security of the country without putting a face to the issues that his men are facing in the field.

Leave Benji Udobia Alone, Esit Eket not Boiling - Youths warn political jobbers

Youths of Esit Eket Local Government Area under the aegis of Esit Eket Consultative Youth Assembly have risen in support of their revered political leader, Elder Benjamin Udobia citing his uncommon qualities of selfless service in leadership and unbiased headship. This was contained in a letter dated 2nd April 2016, addressed to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and made available to the media.

The youths said it became necessary for the forum to reinforce their endorsement of Elder Udobia following an attempt by an out-of-favour group of Esit Eket indigenes seeking to criticize his leadership through a petition described by the Esit Eket youths as a “publication by dissident youths”. The publication had sought to insinuate that Elder Udobia was showing political favours to members of his family attempting to cast aspersion on the statesman’s reputation.

But dismissing the petition as a handiwork of dissident youths sponsored by self-seeking mischief making political bigots, the Esit Eket Consultative Youth Assembly stated; “Elder Udobia has been very fair, equitable and just in recommending distribution of political offices in the Local Government.” The group reeled out names of some of the petitioners who have politically benefitted immensely politically under the leadership of Elder Udobia thus, “it will interest you to know that some of the petitioners are either still in government or have enjoyed a term or two in government. For instance, Mr. Edohouqua, Godwin Paul is a supervisor in the present Esit Eket Transition Committee. Again, Hon. Aniefiok Akpadiaha has been a councilor who represented Ward 5 in Esit Eket Local Government Council. Shortly after his tenure, the said Hon. Aniefiok Akpadiaha was re-appointed as the supervisor for environment during the immediate past administration in Esit Eket (2012-2015).”

They further stated that, “the immediate past Governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency, Senator Godswill Akpabio, donated a brand new bus to Mr. Godwin M. Peter. The said Mr. Godwin M. Peter was a delegate during the last general elections. Interestingly,none of the above mentioned is a member Elder Udobia’s family.”

The agitated youths said that, “We have to make the above revelations because the petitioners have alleged that the political Leader is sentimental in his leadership and that they (the petitioners) have been excluded from the activities of the party.”

The assembly seized the opportunity to commend Elder Udobia for the good fortunes that he has brought to the area since his ascension to leadership, maintaining that under his watch as deputy director general of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s campaign organization, Esit Eket gave 100% of their votes to PDP; and even when results were cancelled in some other Local Government Areas by the Elections petition tribunal, Esit Eket was not affected.

The letter, signed by 10 leaders of the assembly, expressed appreciation for the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel and went further to articulate their satisfaction in the political leadership of Elder Ben Udobia.

Call Ita Enang To Order, Akwa Ibom Elders Write Buhari

By Umoh-Obong Kingsley

President Muhammadu Buhari

 Elders in Akwa Ibom State, under the aegis of Elders of the Divine Mandate, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to call his Senior Special Assistant on Legislative Matters in the National Assembly, Senator Ita Enang, to order following the incessant and unwarranted insults and lies he has meted on the Executive Governor of the State in the recent times.

The group, in an open letter to the President, and made available to newsmen, expressed shock and deep consternation over Sen. Ita Enang’s unwholesome attitude against Governor Udom Emmanuel, describing the insults as being totally vile and laden with malicious intent, which the senator, in an undisguised manner, said he speaks on behalf of the Presidency.

Barr Ita Enang

The letter, jointly signed by Air Commodore Idongest Nkanga (Rtd), Senators Anietie Okon, Emmanuel Ibokessien, Effiong Bob, Rt. Hon. Ndueso Essien, Rt. Hon. Dr. Esio Oquong-Udoh, Chief Okon Essang, Obong Paul Ekpo and Engr. (Obong) Offiong Akpabio, dated April 2, 2016, reads: “We the Elders of the Divine Mandate have watched with utter shock and deep consternation, he unwarranted insults and lies your Senior Special Assistant on Legislative Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, has been launching against the Governor of our dear State our Leader, His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel. These insults have been totally vile and laden with malicious intent and the Senator usually states in an undisguised manner, that he speaks on behalf of Presidency.

“The sad part of this all is that the Senator, one of your Principal Aides, lacks a key ingredient of circumspection and has failed to realise that such lies should not be put out as conventional wisdom and given wings to fly, and that by engaging in such activities, he has brought the exalted office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into the fray of local politics and cause people to wonder if he is speaking on behalf of the Presidency which he always forcefully asserts, which we know, is not the case here.

“Mr. President, it may interest you to know that there are no areas even those that border on the realms of privacy, no issues, no matter how galling, that the Senator has not come out with intellectually confounding blackmail and propaganda all aimed at insulting the office of the Governor of the State and the person of His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel. Whenever the Senator comes to Akwa Ibom State, he would appear on a local radio station and heap insults dripping with disdain, lies and malice on the Governor. He would speak in a tone and cadence that even some members of your party have had moments to call us and apologise for the shocking and morally objectionable tirade the Senator has been launching on the person and office of the Governor of the State.

“We find it beneath and totally unseemly for an individual who is a Principal Aide of the President of the Federal Republic to engage in these sorts of pedestrian reasoning and thoughts. We find it embarrassing for a Presidential Aide to advertise such ignorance and crass appeal to base instincts simple because he wants to play to the gallery and spit all sorts of inanities and obtuse rants.”

It could be recalled that Senator Ita Enang had recently granted interview to the Planet Radio, a local radio station in Akwa Ibom State, where he was quoted to have accused Governor Udom Emmanuel of not paying workers’ salaries, a statement found to be false.

Senator Ita Enang, during his recent visit to Governor Udom Emmanuel, congratulated him and openly confessed that the Governor’s election and Supreme Court victory was indeed a Divine enterprise and told the Governor that “We fought you hard and dirty,” to which Governor Emmanuel smiled and told him ‘all that was now in the past and that we should all work together to deliver superior service to the people of Akwa Ibom State.’

“Mr. President, the 2015 gubernatorial elections had been won and lost and we think the narrow resort to political posturing by Senator Ita Enang, while claiming to be speaking on behalf of the Presidency, should give way to robust engagements on how to move our nation and state forward.

“We would have ignored Sen. Ita Enang’s insult-laden rants and dismiss him for his rabble-rouser qualities and tendencies, but as one of your aides, and since he always claim to be speaking the mind, the voice and interpreting the body language of the President, we felt we needed to bring this odious behaviour to your attention.

“You are the leader of our nation and we salute the manner you have stayed above the fray of local politics, the highly commendable stance you took to allow the Principle of Separation of Powers and the philosophy of Checks and Balance, deepen our political culture and engagement. We refuse to believe the lies of Senator Ita Enang that he speaks on your behalf.

“We wish to please urge you to call him to order and advise him to face his job squarely, pay attention to details and not continue to embarrass the Presidency as he did with the recent budget presentation that he so royally bungled, an act that embarrassed you and the entire nation.

“The good people of Akwa Ibom State are fed up with his antics. Governor Udom Emmanuel is the duly elected Governor of our state, he enjoys our unflinching support and unalloyed confidence and we will ride with him. He has demonstrated in his short ten months that the choice we made in him as our Governor was God’s choice. He has engendered a new thinking in our State and inspired our people to rise up (dakkada) and claim the faith of greatness, he has taken bold steps to diversify the economy. He has demystified governance and demonstrated that we are all accountable to the people, who hired us to work for them. The people are with him and he enjoys their robust support,” the letter further reads.