Constituency Projects: Akpabio Hits Back At SERAP ... Threatens Legal Action
By UbongAbasi Ise
The former Senate minority leader and minister-designate, Senator Godswill Akpabio has come out with facts and figures to confront the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, over their recent call for his prosecution on alleged diversion of constituency projects he attracted as a lawmaker to his senatorial district.
Akpabio, who described the allegations levelled against him by SERAP as mischievous and misguided, has written to the anti-corruption agencies to look into the claims raised by the group.
He said the pressure by the group for his arrest and investigation is politically-motivated, adding that the incessant calls and smear campaigns against him started shortly before President Buhari nominated him as a minister-designate.
In the letter titled: “SERAP’s Mischievous Misrepresentations Against Senator Godswill Akpabio”, the former lawmaker who represented Akwa Ibom Northwest senatorial district, listed the locations of the constituency projects, the contractors, the quantity and quality of items delivered and installed and their beneficiaries.
He said that to demonstrate his undying love for his people beyond boundaries, he donated an ambulance with medical components comprising 150 mattresses and pillows to the Cottage Hospital in Ibiono -Ibom local government area where Senator Ita Enang hails from. Others include staff executive chairs, air-conditioners etc, stressing that the equipment and facilities donated to Ibiono-Ibom local government area is situated in Uyo Senatorial District where he neither hails from nor represent.
Akpabio said he extended life-touching and transformational facilities and amenities to the third Senatorial District (Eket Senatorial District) where he built, renovated and furnished dilapidated classroom blocks with state of the art borehole and water storage facilities in Community Secondary School, Udung-Uko local government area.
At Governor Udom Emmanuel’s backyard in Onna local government area, also in Eket Senatorial District, Awa Comprehensive Health Centre received the 150 pieces of standard hospital mattresses, 300 pieces of patient pillows,300 pieces of bed sheets and blankets, 150 hospital beds, Supply of drugs for Primary Health Centre, 30 standard drip stands, 20 ward screen, 20 drugs trolleys, one ambulance with 10 2Hp petrol engine, six split unit air conditioners, one wheelchair, one Hematology Analyzers (Abacus 380), one Chemistry (STAT TAX330), one Dectrolyte Analyzers (IONYTL), one Elisa Systems(STAT FAX 4200, MICROPLATE READER), one Microbiology (LISA SCAM EM ERBA), one Blood Bank (cool storage instrument), one Urianalysis Machine (Urinanalysis URD-DIPCHECK 240E), one Pharmacy Refrigerator (IPR225 HELMER pharmacy refrigerator), one Biosafety cabinet (LAMIL PLUS 7), two microscope (BINO CULARMICROSCOPE THEIA-1), purchase and supply of consumables at Cottage Hospital, Awa Iman, Onna local government area of Eket Senatorial District, 110 pieces of Standard Hospital mattresses among others.
The former state governor said on August 8, 2018 he empowered his constituents with N250,000 each, and about 450 farmers benefited from the gesture in collaboration with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
He further disclosed that 1,200 men and women received N100,000 cash gift each for entrepreneurship development of various vocations geared towards poverty alleviation and development of the local economy on June 8, 2019 in a closing ceremony of his exit from the 8th Senate.
In early January 2019, 11,600 beneficiaries obtained N10,000 each alongside start-up packs in collaboration with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and Future Assured Programme, a pet project of the wife of Mr. President, again not limited to Akpabio’s senatorial district..
Senator Akpabio said that he also gave scholarship awards to 274 students at the Independence Hall Abak with each receiving N100,000.
In its confirmation of the implementation of the projects, the Border Communities Development Agency, which is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring the execution of sustainable socio-economic and infrastructural development of border communities in Nigeria, which also handled some of Akpabio’s constituency projects in a letter dated July 16, 2019 with reference number BCDA/PDI/CONST/17 /139 through its director of Projects Development and Implementation, Mallam Farouk Maitarure, clarified that the contractor had performed the supply of the said hospital equipment in full as contained in the bill of quantities though payment by the agency is yet to be fully liquidated.
He said: “From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that Senator Akpabio has not only accomplished his mandate to justify the confidence reposed in him by his people but expanded the frontiers of benevolence for the positive transformation of Akwa Ibom State.
“Against this background, we frown at SERAP’s orchestrated cheap blackmail and brazen display of infantile mischief. We caution SERAP to refrain from allowing itself to be used as a willing tool in the hands of attention-seeking, desperate politicians. Senator Akpabio, instead of vilification, deserves due commendation for his meaningful contributions to the growth and development of his people to encourage people-centred programmes and policies of government.
“We urge SERAP to ponder on the illustrative and the illuminating words of the former Prime Minister of Britain who averred that ‘truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end there it is’ and I add, unshaken as the northern star.”
He, therefore, threatened to seek legal redress against SERAP if the admonition was not heeded.
Among the top officials Akabio sent his protest letters are the chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, chairman, Board of Trustees of SERAP, chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the chairman, of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
©The Sensor Newspaper
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