By Emmanuel Abi Couson
The Media Aide to Mr Udom Emmanuel, the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State, Barr Steven Abia has described allegations of corruption leveled against his boss by a group Network Against Corruption and Trafficking ,NACAT, as malicious and baseless.
Abia who was fielding questions from journalists on Friday in Uyo regarding the issue, described NACAT as a faceless group that resort to blackmail to extort money from politicians and therefore appealed to Akwa Ibom residents to disregard the accusations leveled against Udom Emmanuel.
His words , “The immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom State has been maliciously accused, so we are here to tell you that those allegations against my boss are unfounded and baseless. So I implore you, Akwa Ibom people to disregard what they are saying. Those allegations are not true. The people saying those things don’t even have the facts.
“They are faceless people from nowhere trying to dent his reputation . We have never heard of that name. You will agree with me that this NACAT never existed before now, so you can’t even trace them. The name just came up for the purpose of denting this man’s reputation . And it is clear they are people who blackmail politicians in order to make money. We know some people benefit from doing this kind of thing.
“My boss did his work very well. Throughout his time, he touched every area in Akwa Ibom State. There’s no place that we did not have projects executed. The documents are here before you. The facts are here and we have loads of them. And that endeared him to the people. Our people love him.”
Abia who brought out some of the documents containing all the projects approved and executed under the last administration described former governor Emmanuel as accountable, sincere and straightforward political leader.
” This is a man who keeps records meticulously. And then the papers as you have seen, every single project executed throughout his tenure, from day one to the last day, the records are there, and they are excellently kept.
. So my boss is unperturbed. He worked with audit firms so he knows his left from his right.
” His projects as governor eight years litter every nook and cranny of the state and there is no local government in the state that didn’t benefit at least five kilometers of road among other live touching projects.
“He has the records as the best governor we have had, look at how he transformed the health sector, aviation sector, agricultural sector among others. We should be celebrating him not villifying him
“However, he man is unruffled. There’s no cause for alarm.
And I want to tell us that we have not received any formal petition, notice or letter from any of the anti-graft agencies. All we are reacting to is what you have also seen on the social media. That’s all..And we are expecting that the ICPC and the EFCC go ahead and do their work fairly”
Recall that NACAT had petitioned both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC ) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes Commission (ICPC) against the immediate past Akwa Ibom State governor, Emmanuel Udom, urging that the eight-year tenure of the former governor be thoroughly investigated.
The group had alleged that based on its investigation, the sum of N700 billion remained unaccounted for during the Udom Emmanuel’s 8 years tenure
In the petition dated January 21, 2025, signed by its operational manager, Stanley Ugabe and addressed to the chairmen of the two anti-graft agencies respectively, NACAT alleged that there was “wanton corruption and embezzlement of public funds orchestrated by former governor Udom Emmanuel”.
