A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Hon. Essien Okon, has advised the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, to “be man enough” to face his travails and “stop being irresponsible in his frame ups.”
Akpabio had, while facing the House of Representatives ad hoc committee probing alleged financial impropriety in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), accused the lawmakers of being major beneficiaries of contracts awarded by the commission.
Challenged to substantiate his allegation, Akpabio quickly recanted, turning around to claim that James Ibori, Emmanuel Uduaghan are some of the beneficiaries of the contracts.
But the duo has since washed off their hands clean of Akpabio’s recrimination, pointing out however that none of the said contracts were executed by them.
In a statement forwarded to Igbere TV, Okon, a political ally of Akpabio, challenged him to be “man enough” to carry his cross, arguing that it smacks of irresponsibility to dodge his responsibility as the supervising minister of the NDDC, an agency of the Federal government placed in his care.
The member of Board of Trustees of the APC in the statement added: “The Minister of Niger Delta (Affairs), Senator Akpabio should carry his cross, and not to mention innocent people in the mess at the NDDC, which is under his ministry.
“I know Akpabio very well. I understand his craftiness and ceaseless attempts to pull everyone else down . He can be very irresponsible and that’s why he purposely listed names of prominent people as a shield to himself. He should better retrace his steps or else more dooms will befall him.”
