The kingmaker, his 1 million naira "Mr Biggs’’ lunch money and other donations

If you hail from Akwa Ibom state you should be worried, very, very worried. The month of March 2013 has been a revelation of sorts for Nigerians like me as per the true nature of the administration of Chief Godswill Akpabio, Governor of Akwa Ibom state and the new PDP governors forum chairman. I am sure this recent display of generosity by the governor hardly comes as news to natives of Akwa Ibom but it certainly is to me. I admit I havent paid much attention to happenings in that state as most of the news emanating from the state seemed to be largely positive but upon closer scrutiny one now gets a clearer picture and also understand why he is listed among the ‘performing’ govenors.
It has been a truly eventful month in Akwa Ibom state, the land of promise, one doesn't even know where to begin.
In celebratory mood.

A few weeks ago, while hosting the utterly useless and wasteful 'good governance tour' spearheaded by Minister of Information, Labaran Maku and his cohorts, the governor persuaded the minister to yet tarry a while longer and witness more of the wonders his government has bestowed on the state. Of course this was soothing news to the ears of Mr. Maku and Company as this meant more freebies at the expense of the taxpayers of Akwa Ibom state, that didnt bother me so much until the governor dropped this bombshell: hear him – “The people of Ikono and Ini (Local Government Areas) from 1960 have never produced a Senator”, the Governor narrated,“I used my own hand to strike out the name of the person who has won before, and I said it is important for me to give that region a Senator in 2007, and I produced Senator Aloysius Etok for you; that’s where he comes from,” the governor said, He promptly ordered the clearly embarrassed senator to rise and take a bow. This brazen admission of impunity earned the governor appraise and cheers from the crowd. The governor's attention was promptly drawn to the import of his action by an aide who passed him a note after which he quickly attempted to further explain his earlier statement adding ''...During the primaries of the PDP, we zoned the senate to his federal constituency, and from his federal constituency, he emerged first in the primaries. That was what happened in the PDP. So we said since he was the first among the list of people who came from his federal constituency for the primaries then he must be the one to become the senator. And after that we presented him before the public in the general election and he won...". It's anyone’s guess who the "We" refers to.
Thankfully we live in a world where information flies at the speed of sound, the media picked up on this statement and a lot of questions were raised as to why a democratically (s)elected governor of a state should have such statements credited to him. After several denials by the state commissioner for information, the state ministry of information released this press statement.



Typical of the average Nigerian politician, Commissioner for Information and Communications in the state, Mr. Aniekan Umanah emphasized that Governor Akpabio was misunderstood in a video post on some websites and in the social media and enjoined all well meaning individuals and groups to ignore the attempt of "mischief makers" to malign the person and office of Governor Godswill Akpabio. He advised the media not to allow themselves to be used in a new wave of attack against the Governor. The word "mischief maker" has become a generic term for any critic of the government or anyone for that matter who doesn't agree with certain government policies. We are expected to swallow every word that spews out of their mouths hook, line and sinker.
Good will hunting...
The governor's pockets are deep and bulging; seriously threatening to burst out at the seams and in order to prevent that from happening he is constantly in search of where to throw the cash around to relieve him of the burden he presently carries:

Not one to be outdone by the craze for luxurious acquisitions by governors in "poorer" states, in July 2012 Akpabio reportedly took possession of a $45 million jet.

On Sunday 24th march, 2013 he decided to emulate President Goodluck Jonathan and some states governors by rewarding coaches, players and officials of the Super Eagles by doling out , two million Naira to Stephen Keshi, his assistants got one million Naira each; the players were rewarded with a million naira each, while the back room staff got five hundred thousand naira bringing the total figure to about 37million naira.

At a presidential dinner to celebrate Nollywood at 20 , the President donated N3billion in order to empower the industry, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom also promised to finance a N50million 'Goodluck Jonathan Prize Award'.

Mr Akpabio promised and delivered to 2face and Annie Idibia a Traditional wedding gift of a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUV, he also sponsored over 20 people’s flight expenses to Dubai where Mr and Mrs Idibia had their white wedding ceremony.
To cap it up, just last week, in reaction to a statement by the Governor of Delta State that some members of the party are disgruntled as a result of “hunger”, Mr. Akpabio had this to say - " I will give the state (PDP) chairman from the six states (south south) 1million naira per state for Mr Biggs right now!". This uncouth pronouncement gives us an insight into his mindset. Maybe he is emboldened by the acquisition of the 76 oil wells recently ceded to the state he also clearly doesn't know the difference between state and private funds. After all is said and done it is the people of the that will bear the brunt of this largesse when he leaves office. Akwa Ibom is probably the richest state in terms of resources, having said that, the rate at which the governor indiscriminately doles out money may leave a gaping hole in the state's treasury.
In response to constant criticisms of his spendings, the governor had this to say: “...Let’s discuss more about development and challenge Akwa Ibom State about development because this is one state that is showing direction to Nigeria. A State that has done over 35 bridges in less than five years not to discuss about donation of N3 million and then to start attacking the Governor when it is covered by the budget...”.
The explanation that these donations are covered in the state budget would imply that Mr and Mrs Idibia, state PDP Chairman et al are all underpriviledged because a certain percent of the budget is reserved for donations to charities and charity organizations which clearly the above mentioned do not qualify as.
These donations are in pursuance of a certain aim. Mr deep pockets has bought himself his current position as the chairman of the PDP governors forum. He certainly has stronger aspirations with his sight set on 2015, Godswill is going good will hunting at the expense of the people...