Gov. Udom Sacks Commissioners Loyal To Akpabio Who Welcomed Him At The Airport

Two commissioners in the Akwa Ibom State Executive Council loyal to Senator Godswill Akpabio have been sacked by Governor Udom Emmanuel.

 

Senator Akpabio addressing reporters at the Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo

 

The Governor Udom Emmanuel-led Akwa Ibom State Government have sacked some commissioners who received the defected Senator Godswill Akpabio, at the airport in Uyo, the state capital on Tuesday. 

 

According to PREMIUM Times, the sacked commissioners are; Victor Antai of Culture and Tourism, and Ibanga Akpabio (a relative of the senator) of Labour, Productivity and Manpower Planning. 

 

A statement issued on Tuesday evening by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Emmanuel Ekuwem, said Antai and Akpabio were sacked from the State Executive Council because of their “reluctance to comply with good governance processes of government”.

 

The statement asked the sacked commissioners to handover to the permanent secretaries in their respective ministries before the close of work on Wednesday.

Senator Akpabio, who recently resigned from office as the Senate minority leader and ignited a political storm in Akwa Ibom over his planned defection from PDP to APC, landed in the Akwa Ibom International Airport Uyo, on Tuesday and was received by Antai, Akpabio, and other top politicians in the state.

 

It was gathered that a jubilant crowd had thronged the airport to welcome back the senator, who is a former governor of the state.

 

Apart from Antai and Akpabio, other dignitaries who graced the senator’s reception in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area, were the House of Representatives members, Emmanuel Ekon (Abak federal constituency) and Emmanuel Akpan (Ikot Ekpene federal constituency), as well as a state lawmaker representing Essien Udim, Nse Ntuen.

 

Akpabio is expected to be officially received into the APC on Wednesday at a political rally in Ikot Ekpene, as there is a general apprehension in the state that some high profile state government officials and PDP chieftains may likely defect to the APC with the senator.