Govt spent N4b on anniversary

                                                     
 Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Communications,  Aniekan Umanah, has described as deliberate falsehood,the rumour making  rounds on the internet and some local newspapers that the state recently expended about N4 billion to celebrate the 28th anniversary.
Speaking with Newsmen in his office, the Commissioner said peddlers of such story were political jobbers, who were out to misinform the people, with a view to achieving negative ends.
Mr Umanah said that  no such amount was spent on the anniversary during which the Dakkada Spiritual rebirth and moral transformation and re-orientation campaign was launched by Gov. Udom Emmanuel.
On the allegation that contracts for the execution of various aspects of the celebration were given to non indigenes, while Akwa Ibom people were reduced to “mere-dancers”, the Commissioner said “purveyors of the falsehood are not attuned with facts of the matter’.
He explained that the consultancy firm which handled the media campaign for the Dakkada launch-meaning “Akwa Ibomites Arise” is owned by an Akwa Ibom Indigene from Etinan Local Government Area”
According to him, at the risk of sounding immodest, even when it is not an offence, no external group was engaged in the execution of the anniversary events.
He advised the people of the state to be wary of false and misleading information by people who are bent on creating disaffection between the government and the citizens.
Commissioner Umanah maintained that “the governor did not mortgage the state as the agents of falsehood would have people believe, rather, the financial engineering of the present administration has repositioned the state for greater accomplishments