Open letter to Godswill Akpabio

BY NDUESE ESSIEN

My Dear Senate President,

Modesty is a virtue to embrace

I hope this letter finds you well, despite the passage of time since we last communicated directly. It is with a heavy heart that I take this public platform to address you, given our longstanding relationship and the mutual respect we have shared. Over the past three years, attempts to reach out to you have been met with silence, prompting me to resort to this open correspondence. It is crucial that I express my concerns openly, not only for your sake but also for the sake of our friends and constituents who may witness this exchange.

As I recently celebrated my 80th birthday, I took the opportunity to reflect on my life’s journey and the contributions I have made to our community, state, and nation. In humble acknowledgement of the blessings bestowed upon me by God, I am deeply grateful for the role you have played in shaping my political trajectory. Our association has been mutually beneficial, from my appointment as a minister in 2009 to my participation in the 2014 National Conference, which you recommended me for.

Likewise, I recall with fondness the support extended to you before and during the 2007 general elections, which culminated in your successful emergence as the governor of our beloved state. It is evident that our paths have been intertwined in meaningful ways, and it is out of a sense of duty and genuine concern that I implore us to reconnect and offer each other the care and counsel we owe ourselves.

Your Excellency, as you strive to provide the required leadership as senate president and chairman of our esteemed national assembly, I feel compelled to draw your attention to the critical role that previous national assemblies, particularly those between 1999 and 2007, played in steering our country towards economic growth and democratic stability. Throughout that time, the national assembly demonstrated its dedication to accountability and the rule of law. Notably, it was a period when critical anti-corruption authorities were established and regulatory agencies were strengthened, setting the framework for growth and a robust national economy. That era saw phenomenal per capita growth, demonstrating the value of legislative oversight and the preservation of democratic values.

The lessons from this period are clear: a robust national assembly is essential for fostering economic growth, ensuring respect for the rule of law, and securing justice for all citizens. It is imperative that the legislature serves as a check on the executive, rather than merely acquiescing to its dictates. Regrettably, the Senate and House of Representatives between 2019 and 2023 fell short in fulfilling their constitutional duties. By failing to effectively check the executive and allowing many illegalities to go unchecked, they contributed to the hardships facing our nation today.

As you lead the national assembly, I urge you to heed the lessons of history and prioritise the interests of the people above all else. Uphold the principles of transparency, accountability, and justice, and ensure that the legislature functions as a true bastion of democracy. To accomplish the foregoing, you must speak less, listen to your colleagues more, and monitor the national mood before wielding the gavel. By doing so, you will lead the National Assembly in collaborating with the Executive and the Judiciary to create a better future for our dear country.

In a televised plenary session last Tuesday, you told Nigerians that you had received an unverified report about the purported allocation of N30 billion to each governor of the federation by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to mitigate inflation and food prices in their states. Before making such a public statement, you as the leader of the Nigerian legislature and one of the highest-ranking officials in the current administration should have thoroughly verified such a claim.

The subsequent rebuttal of this claim by Oyo state governor Seyi Makinde and the loud silence from All Progressives Congress (APC) governors suggest you did not double-check the information before giving it to the public. This serious error, along with previous blunders, harms your leadership reputation. I urge you to stop making hasty and unfounded claims that could inflame tensions or damage the government and the institution you represent. It is important to apply caution when we speak as leaders.

Sir, I am compelled by a sense of duty to address the inconsistencies that have come to characterise your political expressions, particularly within our beloved Akwa Ibom state. Your Excellency, during the 36th anniversary thanksgiving service of our state creation at the Apostolic Church in Uyo in 2023, you declared, “all local government areas in the state as oil producing, and that there should be no distinction among them in terms of sharing of resources or benefits”.

I was shocked because throughout your eight years as governor of the state, you never said so though you were blatant in depriving the oil-producing areas of their rights. You refused to establish the Oil Minerals Producing Areas Commission in the state, despite demands and pressures, thus making Akwa Ibom the only oil-producing state without this commission. You also diverted most of the NDDC projects to non-oil-producing areas of the state. It is now clear how and why you operated that way.

While you have been an apostle of “every local government in Akwa Ibom being oil-producing,” can you now reconcile your claim on the floor of the senate that the whole of Nigeria is not oil-producing? In the same service, you directed the state governor not to implement the law establishing the authentic political map of the state. The law was promulgated by the state house of assembly in 2023. As a lawyer, former commissioner for local government and former Governor, you cannot deny knowledge of Stubbs Creek Forest and its ownership.

Yet as president of the senate which is the country’s foremost lawmaking body, you were asking the governor to disobey a law legitimately made by the state legislature. Would you ask President Bola Tinubu not to implement a law legitimately passed by the national assembly? Your Excellency, you will agree with me that this is not just the highest level of inconsistency, but also a baseless call for executive rascality and rebellion against the rule of law, and you should be conscious of the consequences.

Again, at another thanksgiving service in Eket on February 11, 2024, you advised Governor Umo Eno to reactivate and complete the Qua River Hotel in Eket within the first term of his administration. You claimed you had bought back the property and designed a 16-storey block for the hotel during your tenure as governor and that this could be completed within two years for the use of ExxonMobil and Ekid people.

Mr. President, you were a commissioner in the administration when this flourishing hotel was thrown away for a paltry N50 million. Immediately after that administration you were governor for eight years and never talked about the Qua River Hotel. Rather, you embarked on the high-rise Tropicana Recreation Centre in the heart of Uyo, against all entreaties, and without completing it. In the twilight of your administration, you embarked on the Four Point Hotel close to your domain and commissioned it without completion. At that time, Qua River Hotel did not still cross your mind. Why now?

Your Excellency, there is a disturbing video currently circulating in the state where you told Oron leaders that Mobil Producing Nigeria now ExxonMobil was supposed to locate its office in Oron but was taken to Eket because of politics. To the best of my knowledge, you were about five years old when the decision was taken. Agreed, there were alternative locations for the company to choose from. But investment decisions for a renowned multinational corporation like Mobil, are not taken on the spur of the moment or weighted in favour of political considerations as is done in Government House.

As governor for eight years, it was surprising that you made no effort to change the wrong political judgement and never compensated the Oron people for the perceived unfair treatment. Again, in 2014 when you had unfettered political authority to pick and install an Oron man as governor, you never did so. Why are you inciting divisive sentiments among our people in a peaceful state to destabilise it now?

In your quest to take over Akwa Ibom in 2027, these unamusing pranks will not be compelling enough to attract support. Oron is populated by intelligent and politically savvy people. The 2027 Akwa Ibom governorship election will be more complex than the “Warsaw War” of 2019, which you lost. I, therefore, advise you to apply a little caution; and concentrate more on national politics to assist in rescuing the nation from its self-imposed predicaments.

God bless you, Mr Senate President. God bless Akwa Ibom state and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Sincerely,

Chief Nduese Essien

Attah of Eket and former minister of lands, housing and urban development