BY Desmond Okon
CHIEF NDUESE ESSIEN’S UNGUARDED OUTBURST ON STATE’S 35 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS, GROUP REACTS
The Akwa Ibom State Democratic Alliance for Good Governance (ADAGG) has taken up issues with the former house of representatives Member for Eket federal constituency and ex-minister of housing, Chief Nduese Essien.
The former minister had, in an interview, described the activities marking the state’s 35th Anniversary as being wasteful and that the “resources spent on the anniversary could be applied for development instead of wasting it away on frivolous celebration activities.”
Reacting to the statement credited to the former lawmaker, Akaninyene Ekpe, the leader of the group, described the former minister’s outburst as “very unfortunate and shocking. We have a lot of respect for Chief Nduese Essien, but we have been alarmed and concerned by the manner and the tone of his recent public commentaries which we consider to be very unbecoming of his elder statesman’s role.
“We recognize the fact that the elder statesman may be experiencing bouts of senior moments, which is quite understandable, but given his role as a leader, he should understand that what he says have implications.
We are shocked by the former Minster’s assertion that showcasing all the great and spectacular achievements recorded in the last seven- plus years of Governor Udom Emmanuel, the 10-lane Super highway, the Idongesit Nkanga/ Clement Isong Avenue, the 29 dualized Etinan- Ndon Eyo Road, the General Hospital in Ikot Abasi, the 9 kilometer Uliong-Edikor-Edikor Uduetta Road, the first ever of such road in Udung Uko Local Government Area, and indeed all other great and spectacular achievements, the Ibom Air, industries the Governor has attracted to the state and other achievements the State has recorded, since our creation 35 years ago, amount to “ frivolous celebration activities.
“We are even further surprised that thanking God for all He has done for us as a state and as a people, given our Christian orientation and that this state is named after God Almighty, would be something the former lawmaker frowns at.
“We wish to remind the former Minister that as a Minister of Lands, there is nothing he can point at, that he attracted to this state while he was a minister. We challenge him to show what he did, that he can point at, as a major project he brought to the state.
“Thanking God, and showcasing achievements recorded by this government, we wish to remind the former minister is not “frivolous” but follows established precedence seen all over the nation and indeed the world. Our State is moving forward and we expect our elder statesmen like Chief Nduese Essien to be proud of where we are today given where we were 35 years ago.”
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