Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has said he is under intense pressure and threat by the political class to share money or risk forfeiting his second term.
Addressing newsmen in Uyo at the weekend, Eno, appealed against distraction from politicians, saying he was on a mission to address the challenges confronting the common people under the rural development programmes as enunciated in the ‘Arise Agenda’ blueprint of his administration.
“I have received lot of threats from the political class that I won’t do second term. I am putting money in rural development because a good first term is better than a useless second term.
I don’t want to put more money in one person’s hands to the detriment of the 7.9 million population,” he said.
Urging politicians to exercise patience by giving him time till December to put the governance structure on the right footing, Governor Eno noted that the challenge of youth unemployment was a clear and present danger that must be settled for the already rich politicians to be at peace, adding that if the restive youths are not properly handled, rich politicians would not enjoy their wealth in peace.
He, therefore, stressed the need to create jobs for youths at the grassroots level for them to be meaningfully engaged in order to curb rural-urban migration, which he said, informed his decision to impress it on the House of Assembly to enact the law compelling local government chairmen to relocate from Uyo, the state capital, to their council areas in order to engage the youth in meaningful ventures and oversee grassroots development.
On the allegation by a section of the media of paying N20 million monthly to his political mentor and former governor Udom Emmanuel, the governor described it as a “blatant lie” deliberately orchestrated to inflame the polity so as to put him at loggerheads with his political godfather.
He wondered why people should resort to blackmail and insult on former leaders of the state who had contributed in no small measure to elevate the state to its current level.
