The Akwa Ibom state government has accused Godswill Akpabio, a former governor, and the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state of plotting to hijack the visit of Aisha Buhari to the state.
In a statement on Friday, the government said the office of the wife of the president wrote to inform it of the visit and that had made adequate arrangements befitting of her status and office.
But Akpabio allegedly took his personal vehicles to the office of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Uyo, the state capital, preparatory to the visit.
“We have been rightly informed of this plan by Senator Goodwill Akpabio to deliberately blackmail the State Government by bungling the protocols of this visit, embarrass the State Government by creating a climate of odium and despair and thereafter rejoice over such failure. We will resist that,” the government said in a statement.
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“The First Lady’s Office wrote to inform us of her visit to the State and it’s customarily and statutorily given that the State Government would provide all arrangements irrespective of what she is coming to the state to do, even if it’s a private visit.
“It’s even ironic that the Directorate of State Service, perhaps owing to inadequate briefing on acceptable protocols on such visits, has acceded to keeping vehicles from a private citizen or even a political party and other protocol breaches.
“Whatever she is coming to do here (Uyo), she remains the guest of the State Government. We have informed Abuja accordingly. And she knows how it works that is why she rightly wrote to inform us that she will be coming to the State tomorrow (Friday).
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“These people should know the limit of political grandstanding and separate rascality from established protocols.”
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