Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, on Monday, replied the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying he (Tinubu) always resorts to abusing and insulting people during campaigns, declaring that he has nothing to offer Nigerians.
He also said that despite being insulted by the former Lagos governor of Lagos State, he would prefer to allow peace to reign by ignoring him and focusing on helping install good governance to rescue Nigerians from their present woes.
Udom Emmanuel spoke on Tuesday evening at Government House, Uyo while inaugurating newly appointed Permanent Secretaries, Chairmen and Members of Boards and Commissions, as well as a Transition Committee to ensure the smooth transition of power to the next administration.
Tinubu, during his rally in Uyo on Monday, reportedly said: “Akwa Ibom, that boy wey bring Atiku here, wey de call himself Governor, tell him enough is enough! He lives in my backyard in Lagos, If no be say we be one, I would have driven him home. You see that mansion he is living, I would just use lizards, pigeons and scorpions to put him inside.”
But reacting few hours later, the Akwa Ibom State governor said: “For the country to remain in peace, one party must ‘play saint’ and that is why he would refrain from replying Tinubu.
Emmanuel, who doubles as the Chairman of the PDP presidential campaigns, said: “I also go to other states, and if you watch our campaigns, my principal (Atiku Abubakar) has never spoken about any Governor, he has never spoken openly about Asiwaju before.”
He added that it was unfortunate that Tinubu, who was granted State-owned facilities such as the airport, security, stadium, and a good atmosphere to come in and sell his manifesto, ended up insulting the integrity of over 7.9 million Akwa Ibom people.
The governor wondered if it is possible for any Akwa Ibomite to go to Lagos that Tinubu stays or the actual State that he hails from, to insult Tinubu in like manner and still be allowed to safely return home, “but here our people at the stadium including some State governors just laughed and applauded him.
“What makes him think he will govern Nigeria? If I reply him now, people will call me and say, haba oga you are not like that. But I will reply him one day. There is nothing like ‘emi lo kan’ (it is my turn) here, Nigeria is in God’s hands.”
He maintained further that despite being the highest revenue contributor to the federation account, Akwa Ibom State has not gotten a single kilometre of road from the APC-led Federal Government for nearly 8 years adding that the poor response from the Federal Government also caused the delayed commencement of the seaport in the State.
– Media Report