Aniefiok Macauley
Reading through a post by one Udo Silas on the above subject matter, it was easy to discern how mentally low he was in penning down those vitriolic inanities. I am rejoining his post not to castigate him but to call him out with irrefutable facts about the construction of Uyo- Ikot Ekpene, whose contract award was signed on 19th December 2011.
Though Silas, in his smallness of mind claimed that Mr. Udom Emmanuel, Governor of Akwa Ibom State was brought from obscurity to be governor against the wishes of the kitchen cabinet of Governor Godswill Akpabio, as he then was, I think Silas requires a good dictionary for a real meaning of obscurity.
For a fact, a man who at the zenith of his career sat on many offshore Boards of his bank and was Executive Director cum Financial Controller of Zenith Bank cannot by any stretch of imagination be said to have been in an obscure position in his preferred career.
Perhaps Udo Silas knows that even in journalism that he would not make the list of first 100 first class journalists in Nigeria.
It is therefore undoubtedly that man who was rescued from obscurity laden with abject poverty and decorated with a title of Senior Special Assistant, having earlier mismanaged and ran aground a weekly regional paper whose print run was less than 1000 copies, would likely see every other person from his limited worldview.
Regardless, Udo Silas failed woefully in his acerbic pontification to interrogate the governor on facts and figures to justify his morally deficit claims that the governor blatantly lied about the 20% work done on the road when he took over the mantle of leadership in 2015.
This appalling failure on his part, could be attributed to his ignorance on the reality on ground at the time, particularly in respect to the construction of the road in question.
In all fairness to Udo Silas, as an indigene of Onna local government area, he may not have been familiar with the project, since it does not lie on his frequent route to Port Harcourt.
It is on record that few months to the end of Akpabio’s tenure, Udo Silas as SSA to the governor completely derelict his duties and absconded to Port Harcourt.
In some instances including the purported commissioning of road project in question, Udo Silas’ absence was conspicuously noticeable that the former governor, told his incoming successor, “if you must succeed, don’t work with someone like Udo Silas. He started well but along the line, veered off. He left his duty post and is now in Port Harcourt looking for contracts.” What a testimony from one’s boss.
In view of the above scenario, I have therefore elected to furnish and remind him, his ilk and traducers with these undisputable facts about the Uyo- Ikot Ekpene road project.
1. That barely 7 months of being sworn in for a second term as governor, it is on record that, the then Governor of Akwa Ibom State , Godswill Akpabio on the 19th December, 2011 awarded a contract to Julius Berger(Nig.) PLC for the dualization of the 25 kilometres of Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road to the tune of N28,394,575,803,22k (Twenty Eight Billion, Three Hundred and Ninety Four Million, Five Hundred and Seventy Five Thousand Eight Hundred and Three Naira Twenty Two Kobo).
At over N1billion per kilometres), the highest in the country as at then.
The contract, according to available documents was to be completed within 24 months, approximately about December 2013.
To kick start the contract, mobilization of 40% of the total sum amounting to N11, 357,830,321.29k (Eleven Billion, Three Hundred and Fifty Seven Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Three Hundred and Twenty One Naira, Twenty Nine Kobo) was approved and disbursed.
2. The records show that on the 12th September, 2013, when the road ought to have been completed, Akpabio’s government reviewed the cost by additional N23,516,228,394.00 (Twenty Three Billion, Five Hundred and Sixteen Million, Two Hundred and Twenty Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Ninety Four Naira) which when added to the original cost amounted to a total contract sum to N51,910,804,197.22 (Fifty One Billion, Nine Hundred and Ten Million, Eight Hundred and Four Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety Seven Naira Twenty Two Kobo.
3. Again, barely a year later and in fact on the 25th July, 2014, the Akwa Ibom State Government approved additional work in respect of the dualization of the said road with the following description: (i) Section from Ch. 23+000 to City centre incl. Roundabout. (ii) flyover to the tune of N19,448,373,217.63k . (Nineteen Billion, Four Hundred and Forty Eight Million, Three Hundred and Seventy Tree Thousand Two Hundred and Seventeen Naira Sixty Three Kobo) Although the sum of N71, 359, 177, 414.89 (Seventy One Billion, Three Hundred and Fifty Nine Million, One Hundred and Seventy Seven Thousand, Four Hundred and Fourteen Naira Eighty Nine Kobo) was released for the execution of the project. In spite of various approvals and disbursements, the contractor abandoned the project.
4. What the likes of Udo Silas fails to tell the public is that at the twilight of Akpabio’s tenure sometimes in May 2015 and almost four years after that contract was awarded, he hurriedly commissioned what he called the Phase 1 where only 6km was asphalted, 3 km at binding course , and 5 km was at earth works level.
Though records show that the sum of N2.3 billion naira was approved and disbursed for the payment of compensation to property owners marked for demolition from kilometer 4 to Ikot Ekpene plaza, none of the beneficiaries was paid and this resulted in several litigations and abandonment of the construction work .
Based on the facts stated above, the question Udo Silas should be asking is “why did Akpabio not complete the 25 kilometer road in 4 years despite approving and disbursing over N71Billion at a time a dollar was exchanging for N187?”
Governor Udom Emmanuel deserves accolades for making funds available for the payment of compensation to property owners on the right of way and ensuring that funds were made available to Julius Berger PLC for the completion of the project.
Yes, the governor deserves commendation as expressed by the stakeholders of Ikot Ekpene senatorial district and not a vile tirade by people with slavish mentality.
No doubt that the visiting Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan while commissioning the road stated “Let me say that Governor Udom Emmanuel is what I call justice, unity, peace, progress, development. You are right in all actions you have taken.This is my 3rd or 4th time of coming here, you are truly a Nigerian, a leader who believes in the unity of Nigeria. Each word you utter, is purposeful, you believe that people must unite to take Nigeria forward. Today our country is going through trying period, the purpose of leadership is to deal with challenges at all levels, when we hold our hands together, we can overcome.”
