Group exonerates top Akwa Ibom govt official from corruption allegations

Group exonerates top Akwa Ibom govt official from corruption allegations

- A top government official in Akwa Ibom state has been exonerated from corruption allegations

- A group, Civil Society Groups for Good Governance, said the allegations are false

- The group went on to provide evidence for its stance over the allegations

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A group, Civil Society Groups for Good Governance, CSGGG has dismissed allegations of extravagant spending against the accountant-general of Akwa Ibom state, Pastor Uwem Andrew- Essien.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja including a Legit.ng reporter on Friday, January 29, convener of CSGGGG, Comrade Ogakwu Dominic, described the accusation as mischievous, unwarranted, and unsubstantiated.

Comrade Dominic stated that those peddling the information are lazy and lack a clear understanding of how governments operate.

Group exonerates top Akwa Ibom govt official from corruption allegations
The affected official has been advised to focus on helping the Udom Emmanuel administration meet its obligations. Photo credit: @MrUdomEmmanuel
Source: Facebook

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He went on to say the allegation against the top Akwa Ibom government official is the handiwork of mischief makers and blackmailers.

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His words:

“A lot of people in the state lack inept knowledge of how government functions, and to cover up for their failure to understand or seek clarifications, they sit in the confinement of their homes to construct and spew lies against performing public stewards.
“On the part of the journalists in our society, they have refused to seek clarifications to reports before reporting, not remembering that the pen is quite mightier than the sword and can bring disrepute or kill good name of a man.”

Ogakwu reiterated that the report against Pastor Uwem is a complete show of 'pull him down syndrome.'

He added:

“If the accusers did their findings properly, they would have known that all transactions of government ranging from travel allowance, water charges, electricity amongst others passes through the office of the accountant general of the state.
The AG is a man of honour and repute who has earned the respect of the state government and the entire people of Akwa Ibom State, his character should not be questioned now or ever.”

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Comrade Dominic, however, called for the immediate arrest of perpetrators of the unsubstantiated report and further advised those planning to follow suit to drop the idea.

The group urged Pastor Uwem to remain focused and avoid being distracted by enemies of the state and by extension, the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel.

Similarly, the Competent Governance For Accountability And Civic Trust (CGACT), has exonerated a top government official in Delta state from corruption allegations.

Convener of CGCAT, Ambassador Godwin Erheriene decried the campaign of calumny against Mr. Edwin Ogidi Gbegbaje, permanent secretary and director of protocol Delta state Government House, Asaba at a press briefing attended by a Legit.ng reporter on Wednesday, January 27.

Ambassador Erherience also called on media houses to verify their reports before publishing them for public consumption.

In a related development, the Border Communities Development Agency has said that contrary to a recent media report, there were no illegitimate payments into private accounts of individuals in the agency as alleged other than legitimate payments made to staff members to carry out official duties.

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This was contained in a statement signed by the spokesman, Sadiq Isa on Thursday, December 17, and sent to Legit.ng.

Isa further said that if there were to be anything untoward in the payments, they would not be on the federal government treasury open payment platform.

Source: Legit.ng

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