Akpabio;Cautions akwa ibom people on infighting

GOVERNOR Godswill Akpabio has identified infighting among Akwa Ibom people as a factor hampering socio-economic development of the state, and called on the people to eschew tribalism, hatred and blackmail.

   Akpabio said this yesterday during the monthly prayer meeting at Government House, Uyo.

   He charged clergymen to rise up to their responsibilities by emphasizing love and togetherness, saying: “Ethnicity cannot be stopped by the governor; it can only be stopped by God. The responsibility comes back to the clergymen. They have to pray. It is only through prayers that we can open the eyes of the people to know that you don’t have a choice of where you need to be born, and you don’t have a choice of where you will die. The people have to make personal decisions not to be tribal.”

   Commenting on flood at Itiam-Oron Road, Shelter Afrique Estate and Osung Ama estate, he assured that it would soon be an issue of the past: “We are working to connect Oron Road to the main underground drainage at Tropicana.

   “Right now, what we are doing, as a temporary intervention measure, is to use pumps to drain water from the areas. I can assure you that the Egyptians you see today, you will see them no more.”

   The governor who took his first Bible reading from Acts 1:1-18 said: “Uyo is very flat and most places are below sea level and one of the greatest problems is flooding. We are also going to intervene in some areas in Osung Ama Estate. There are some areas where we are having flood because somebody built on the waterways. We are working on that.

   “Also, in Shelter Afrique Estate, we are also having some issues there. But from the Secretariat in Aka Road through Tropicana, all the way to Aka-Nung Udoe road, we have connected all, through underground pipe drainage system.”