Akanimo Sampson
The row on the ownership of Ibom Airline that was ignited by the ‘governorship candidate’ of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State, Akanimo Udofia, has taken a new twist.
Since the news broke, the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel has been responding to the hot air by taking on the APC chieftain mercilessly.
Apparently shocked with the response of the Udom administration, the trigger-ready APC chief has taken the state administration to the slaughter house, leaving it with severe bruises.
Imo E. Akpan, a senior lawyer with the Akanimo Udofia Campaign Council, is busy striking the Udom administration on behalf of their principal.
According to him, “Udofia did not lay claim to ownership of Ibom Airlines or any aircraft in its fleet.
“There is no evidence anywhere that such a claim was made. The video referred to clearly does not make that claim so it is embarrassing to accuse our principal of wrongdoing.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the idea of Ibom Airlines Limited, was not conceived by Governor Udom Emmanuel contrary to what Uko Udom, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice, want the world to believe when he said; “the idea of Ibom Air was conceived and executed by Governor Udom Emmanuel”.
“In his poorly cobbled piece, Udom, SAN, strenuously albeit unsuccessfully sought to obfuscate facts by peddling falsehood against our principal and foremost entrepreneur, Akanimo Udofia.”
Continuing, he said, “the mendacious piece, which is riddled with inexcusable ignorance, alleged in the main, that our principal claimed ownership of Ibom Airlines and some of the aircraft in its fleet.
“We consider it worthless joining issues with idle and visionless appointees of government, but for our commitment to continually further the ideals of truth and responsibility and to deepen the conversation around the state of our government/governance, we wish to state the following facts for the benefit of our compatriots and supporters.”
Firing on, the Udofia legal aide says, “nothing could be farther from the truth as records show that Ibom airlines Limited was incoporated on February 21,2013 by Governor Godswill Akpabio after our principal shared the idea of an airline with him sometime in 2012. In 2013, Udom was still a staff of Zenith Bank and cannot ascribe to himself the conceptualization of Ibom Airlines.
“Akpabio, the man hailed as the “uncommon transformer, thereafter visited the Bombardier facility in Toulouse in France to further explore the possibility of giving life to our principal’s vision.
“The fact is, Ibom Airlines Limited that Udom Emmanuel inherited as Governor in 2015 was our principal’s brainchild!
“In fact, in furtherance of the “shared vision”, Akpabio then sponsored 32 Akwa Ibom indigenes for training in Air Traffic Control (ATC) in various institutions abroad. These graduates are today working in several airports in Nigeria.
“Akan Udofia then trained the first female pilot of Akwa Ibom descent. Our principal from 2019 went on to play a key role in liaising with Aviation authorities to secure Air Traffic Control (ATC) status for Obong Attah International Airport.
“This has culminated in our state being the hub for ATC in Nigeria today.
“Udom stood truth on its head when he claimed “…the Airline is owned 100% by Akwa Ibom State”. Ibom Airlines Limited is not owned by Akwa Ibom State (Government) and is incapable of being “owned” in a legal sense.
“For the purpose of enlightenment, Ibom Airlines Limited is a limited liability company and therefore a juristic person. The SAN ought to appreciate this fine piece of jurisprudence.
Hitting hard on the chief law officer of the state, the APC stalwart pointed out that while Udom’s piece of poorly assembled literature failed to prove any wrongdoing against the disputed governorship candidate, it allegedly inadvertently magnified the relationship of Uko Udom, Mfon Udom and Governor Udom Emmanuel in the light of their recent and strategic repositioning of the corporate governance structure in the airline.
Adding, APC said, “Udofia’s aspiration to the governorship of Akwa Ibom is predicated on his commitment to entrenching his vision of “shared prosperity” and development for the people of our beloved state.
“What he deserves is commendation and not condemnation and deliberate fabrication of lies with the sole aim of damaging his hard-eamed reputation and bringing him to disrepute.
“It is incontrovertible that as a private citizen, Udofia has partnered and supported successive administrations in the state in various developmental initiatives, charitable causes and philanthropic gestures.
“Today it is easy to say Obong Akan Udofia (OAU) is the LARGEST PHILANTHROPIST in the history of Akwa Ibom.
“In 2019 he singlehandedly built and donated an ultra-modern 105-bedroom Hostel for post graduate students of Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden.
“In recognition of his entrepreneurial prowess and philanthropy, in 2016 he became the first and only recipient of Akwa Ibom Award of Entrepreneurial Excellence by Governor Udom Emmanuel.
“It is on account of these gestures and many others that his bid to seek office as the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State has resonated well with the good people of the state.
“Rather than patronizing roadside gossip, surfing social media and issuing unfounded threats, the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State must do more.
“He must go further and address the issue of ownership, funding, and cost of maintaining the aircrafts in the fleet as Akwa Ibom people are interested in the profitability of the venture.”
lukea