‘There can’t be total eradication of poverty in A’Ibom’

Jerry Akpan, the Special Adviser on Political and Legislative Affairs to the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, in this interview with KAZEEM IBRAHYM, speaks on insecurity, and the claims by the opposition that the state government is behind the kidnappings in the state.
The governor has been accused of intimidating the opposition and your office, particularly is alleged to be playing major role in harassing the governor‘s challengers. What‘s your take on this?

It is a wild allegation. There are no facts to prove that the government is intimidating opponents or the government is a kidnapping government. What we have read and what we have heard is the handiwork of the enemies of progress. You know a few persons in this state feel that the government is not paying them what they termed their dues by giving them money every month instead of using the money to do projects.

But the governor who came in with the mandate of the people of the state had promised to change their lives. The governor as soon as he took over government started embarking on numerous projects and these had cost the state whole lots of money and the governor is not one that would go into the capital market to borrow. He has refused to go into the capital market to borrow money. The governor is doing everything possible to manage the little resources he earns from the Federal Government and the one internally generated. So these enemies of progress who are living on money from the Federal Government and the state government are not happy because of the development stride in the state. That is also why they are calling the governor names and trying to bring him down.

The problem of insecurity and kidnapping is real in the state, who is to be blamed, the state government or the opposition parties?

There may be kidnappings in the state but it is not exclusive to us. There are similar cases in the other states of the federation. We have had such incident in Abia State and does that suggest that Governor Theodore Orji is responsible for it. Ironically, it is when you are performing that people heap that kind of accusation on you. They look for a name to give to such a government and paint the administration black. Now, the question still remains, is Akwa Ibom State the only state that records kidnapping? The answer is no. Go to Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo, Niger, Kaduna states and even Abuja, kidnapping is everywhere.

Again, for me, I think it is a reasonable notice given to the people and the government to beef up security situation in the state before election time and the government is doing everything humanly possible to arrest the situation. What the government is doing is a security matter which I cannot discuss in public. But I can assure you that the state is on top of the situation.

In the state, the political scene is tensed up and the spate of assassination is on the increase, don‘t you think the government must work on the security situation before the 2011 elections?

You talk of tension in the political scene in the state. Have you been to the South-west and the South-east? I think this idea is been orchestrated by a few that called themselves the opposition. Let them come out and let‘s see the people that will follow them. Somebody visited me last week and I took him to the Hilltop mansion, the lodge. The person asked me if it was done under three years, I told him one year four months. I also took him to the many flyovers, E-library and the five star hotels this administration has built in the state. So what I am saying in essence is that the present administration in the state has performed creditably well. So for one to link Assam Assam as a connecting link between the kidnappers are lies of the devil.

How do the mansion and hotels affect the people considering the poverty in the land?

I am not saying that there is no poverty in the land but the poverty of today is different from the poverty of yesterday. There is too much of empowerment today than yesterday. The government has recruited thousands of youths in the state agricultural scheme from the 31 local government areas. The governor has also announced that he would engage 400 youths across all the councils in the state. The governor is laying solid foundation for better tomorrow and you are talking about poverty. Do you know that hospital bill for the aged, children under five and pregnant women are free of charge. Now, the Independent Power Project is working perfectly in the state. There can‘t be total eradication of poverty in this administration. It is impossible. Poverty is an age-long institution on its own. I don‘t want the governor to be fighting poverty but to reduce its level in the state. It is not when you give out money that you reduce poverty, you reduce poverty in diverse manner through free and compulsory education, free medical health care and good infrastructural development. That is poverty alleviation.
Sourcehttp://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201011210402868