The removal of the names of Senator Bassey Albert Akpan popularly known as OBA and Mr Effiong Akwa from the 2022 National Honours list, has drawn the ire of Akwa Ibom Integrity Alliance.
Senator Akpan representing Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District in the Red Chambers was tipped for Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) while Akwa, the immediate past Interim Sole Administrator of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, was to be honoured with Member of the Federal Republic (MFR).
However, the names of the two prominent Akwa Ibom indigenes were conspicuously omitted in the final list when the awardees appeared before President Muhammadu Buhari for conferment with the titles at International Conference Centre, Abuja on October 11.
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This contradicted with this newspapers’ report that OBA and Akwa were conferred with the awards.
Till date, Federal Government has not given reason for dropping their names, though grapevine confided in Straightnews that the removal may not be unconnected with the purported indictment of Effiong Akwa by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and OBA’s EFCC case pending at the Federal High Court, Uyo.
The socio-political group condemned in strong terms the loud silence of the federal government on the eleventh-hour and sought immediate explanations.
The group, made their condemnation public in a statement endorsed by Barr. Stephen Abia and Prince Imoh Etimudo, National President and secretary of the group respectively, make it susceptible to diverse interpretations by Nigerians.
The statement, therefore, stressed the need for an urgent government statement on the matter to calm frail nerves in the state, country and international scene.
“When the list of national awards nominees for 2022 was released, we took pride in the fact that some deserving indigenes of Akwa Ibom State made the list. We saw the recipients of the national award as worthy ambassadors of Akwa Ibom State, whose spirit of excellence, distinction and hard work in their different stations of life align with the true Akwa Ibom Dakkada spirit.
“Good enough, the organisers picked their recipients across party divides and fields of human endeavour, which buttressed the point that nothing can put a wedge between our spirit of excellence, so also can no Akwa Ibom person be blinded by pettiness over the attainments of Akwa Ibom people such as the national honours.
“But we were later to be saddened by the manner in which the name of one of our accomplished sons of Akwa Ibom State, the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District, Senator Bassey Albert and the Interim Administrator of the NDDC, Mr Effiong Akwa, was curiously dropped from the list few minutes to the awards ceremony.
“We have been reliably informed that the name of Senator Bassey Albert who was nominated for Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON, was dropped by the federal government on the premise that he is indicted and is being prosecuted in a corruption case by the EFCC.
“Granted that the man is involved in a corruption case and several other issues bothering on graft, is it not established that in law one is not guilty until so presumed by the court? Disgracing him from the national honours list at the eleventh hour is totally wrong, unacceptable and a slight on the people of Akwa Ibom State.
“Does the federal government say that Senator Bassey Albert is the only Nigerian with corruption baggage whether in court who was nominated for the honour? Or is he being treated special because he is an Akwa Ibom son? What if in the end, the court pronounced him not guilty, how will the wounds inflicted by this shabby treatment be healed?”, the statement questioned.
The statement pointed out that the corruption case against the senator did not just happen during the week of the award ceremony, and questioned why they included his name in the first place, if not to disgrace and rubbish the man for whatever reason.
“Worst still, this shocking removal came at a very bad time in the man’s life when he was already devastated by the death of his younger brother and his two aides who died as a result of the federal government’s failure to provide security and good health facilities to Nigerians. Did a man in such an emotionally traumatic condition deserve another avoidable trauma of being publicly humiliated with the national honours list?
“This is a man who had made his personal arrangements to celebrate his expected honour. What happens to the expenses he may have already incurred? What explanations was he expected to give his invited guests and well-wishers who may have been mobilized from Akwa Ibom State, and indeed all parts of Nigeria to Abuja? What a huge loss! What an act of insensitivity!
“We equally condemn the surreptitious removal of the name of the Interim Administrator of the NDDC, Mr Effiong Akwa after an official publication of the national honours list for whatever reason the federal government may come with. To us, that was a selective disgrace to our sons, and we totally condemn this,” the statement further condemned.
The statement which was made available to THEWILL in Uyo, however, decried the continuous neglect of Akwa Ibom despite its contributions to the growth and sustenance of the nation’s economy saying it was enough grave injustice that need not be aggravated by the needless shabby humiliation of Akwa Ibom sons.
It called on the federal government to immediately correct these anomalies and get their earlier nominees, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan and Mr Effiong Akwa, decorated with national medals of honour.
“This is to avoid establishing a wrong precedent that does the unity of our country no good.
“Nigeria belongs to us all, and what is good for the goose, is good for the gander. We cannot continue to watch our sons and daughters receiving the shameful treatment of second class citizens.
“Enough is enough!” the statement added.
