Akwa Ibom governor: Good leaders don’t kill to serve their people

Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom state, says leaders who have the interest of the people at heart do not kill to serve.

Emmanuel said this at an event in Uyo, the state capital, on Thursday.

The governor said he had information that some groups of people were planning to foment trouble in the state during the general election.

There have been reports of a rift between Emmanuel and his predecessor, Godswill Akpabio, who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in August.

Emmanuel alleged that politicians who instigate violence against people have ulterior motives, saying the people of the state are enlightened and can differentiate between a genuine leader and a fake one.

“I normally wonder that if the intention of some individuals is to serve the masses, why do they then have to kill them to do so?” he asked.

“As political leaders, we all campaign, present our manifesto and call for votes so that we can serve our people, but if you sincerely want to serve your people, why do you have to kill them?

“As far as I am concerned, this means that such persons have other motives, and this does not include serving the people because good leaders don’t kill to serve their people. That is the truth.

“I want Nigerians to ask those preaching war where their children are. Whose children do they want to engage in the war, when they have hidden their children somewhere?

“We have intelligence report some of them have even gone ahead to produce fake police and army uniforms and are trying to bring in all kinds of ammunition through different routes just to destabilise the system.

“The people of Akwa Ibom know what they want and who they want. They are so enlightened, educated, and are politically savvy. They know someone who is sincere and genuinely want to serve them.”

Emmanuel cited “short termed processes” as one of the factors affecting Nigeria’s investment decisions.

He added that his administration had been able to overcome this by providing amenities and an enabling environment that will be beneficial to the people of the state and investors, even after his tenure.

“The problem with Nigeria and Africa is that we are too short termed in our processes and this is affecting our execution and even investment decisions,” he said.

“As an administration, 90 percent of what we are doing is not short termed. We are not doing anything that will terminate by next year; we are doing things that will continue to run and benefit the people irrespective of what God decides tomorrow.

“Outside road construction, infrastructure development, social services and amenities, we have put up factories and created the environment for investors to come in.

“We are not doing typical white elephant projects, we are doing projects that by tomorrow, even if we want to privatise them, we will realise our initial investment and even enough for expansion.

“Our aim is to drive the local economy through these various initiatives and empower our people by creating jobs in every nook and cranny of the state.”