Former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Victor Attah has accused the entire fourth realm of the estate of being afraid to ask Governor Godswill Akpabio tough questions. He said this in response to journalists who sought his opinion on the new State Governors Pension Bill which was recently remixed by the Godswill Akpabio administration and rubber stamped by the State House of Assembly. The Bill will see former Governors and their deputies including Akpabio who will have to leave the office in a matter of months earn billions of Naira in pension benefits and allowances for the rest of their lives.
Attah said, “If Godswill Akpabio says he conceived the new law to put a ceiling to the expenses made on previous leaders of the state, somebody should have had the guts to ask him how much he has been paying to the past leaders.
“You journalists are afraid of Godswill Akpabio and that is why you have always shied away from asking some pertinent questions.”
The incumbent Governor had clarified his position on Channels TV earlier, Mr. Akpabio said, “It’s a laughable situation that people generate controversy over the pension law. The law has been in existence in Akwa Ibom State. I am the one implementing it.
“I know what I am talking about and because I wear the shoe, I know where it pinches. All the former elected governors and their deputies have been enjoying the pension. The pension was first established in 2000 and was further amended with certain provisions added in 2006.”
“It’s really not a retroactive law, neither is it a new law. It is an existing law that went through amendment.
“We had a situation where bills from former deputies and their spouses worth N29 million were brought from several hospitals they claimed they went for treatment abroad.
“Because the bill did not specify whether the hospital should be in Nigeria or not, most of what I have seen in the past seven years has been bills from hospitals abroad.”
But PREMIIUMTIMES reports Attah as having stated, “Why don’t you people ask him (Akpabio) how much the state has paid to its past leaders? Why don’t you people ask him how much has been paying to Obong Attah and others?
“I don’t like it when journalists always come to ask me about what is wrong in Akwa Ibom State instead of asking Godswill Akpabio.
“They didn’t ask him such questions; they didn’t ask him to clarify on the projects he said he has been carrying out in the state.
“I don’t have anything to tell you since you do not have the guts to ask Governor Akpabio to present proofs of what he has been paying to past leaders of the state.
“You journalists should go and look at the law critically and ask him whether Obong Attah has been enjoying any of the benefits provided for in the law.
“You should also ask him whether he built a retirement home for me either in Uyo or Abuja. Ask him to tell you how much he has been paying to Obong Attah as retirement package after I left office.
“These are questions Akpabio should answer and should provide verifiable records to Akwa Ibom people and Nigerians. Journalists should stop asking me questions they should ordinarily ask Governor Godswill Akpabio. I want to enjoy my retirement in peace.”