Few days to the much anticipated 80th birthday of Akwa Ibom legendary leader Arc.Obong Victor Attah, his successor and former Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio has tangue-lashed Attah, accusing him of embezzlement and unaccountability throughout his tenure between 1999 and 2007.
Akpabio, who was reacting to widespread criticism of profligacy and wasteful spendings that rocked his 8years 'uncommon' administration, lamented that he is being singled out for attack, while Obong Attah is treated as a saint by Akwa Ibom people.
The Akwa Ibom North West senator described Akwa Ibomites as hypocrites, for insisting that he must come and account for his stewardship, while his predecessor was celebrated on the streets of the state.
Akpabio, in a post on Monday in some notable social media platforms through his Personal Assistant on Media, Pastor Abasiandikan Nkono, said "The question is, what and what did Akpabio inherit from former Gov. Attah?"
Senator Akpabio who instituted two major probes on Obong Attah's Science Park project and the Pioneer Newspaper Printing Press projects, during his tenure said his predecessor Obong Attah left him with nothing to use and start operating as a governor when he assumed office in 2007.
"When you see a man who is totally at sea with regards to the workings of govt threatening fire and brimstone that Akpabio must be called to account, when initiators of projects such as the Science Park (Obong Attah)that were never completed, but which monies were paid, working free on the streets, one cannot but feel terribly amused by such high wire hypocrisy and double standards in Akwa Ibom State."
Akpabio, who served for six years as commissioner under Attah, dismissed claims that former Governor Attah's government received so little and should not receive any blame.
"The primitive refrain in that regard is that Arc. Attah did not receive enough money.
But has anybody ever asked why 98% of the value of Ibom Science Park was paid and yet till today that place remains unaccounted for? If Akpabio did that, would he have lived?"
With widespread condemnations trailing the moribund Tropicana project, and other abandoned projects despite huge bugetary provisions in his time, Akpabio explained that "Since others before him are not called to question," nobody should commence accountability probe with his administration.
"Let no man make any mistake, as far as public account with regards to governorship in the State is concerned, I begin to wonder how you can call Akpabio to account, when past administrators, elected governors who equally ran the State on federally allocated funds are working about unmolested."
Despite his huge allocation, Akpabio likened himself to the biblical parable of talents where the master gave different amounts to the different servants.
According to him, even the man who received only one talent was equally called to account for it, just as the man who received 5 talents.
"Then in our time we issue a clean bill of performance to the man with one talent (whose preoccupation was indictment of the master and envy), while at the same time mindlessly calling the man who received five talents to account (inspite of the fact that he did all he could in the prevailing circumstance)"
"When people claim Akpabio received more money than any other governor in the State before him, and as such he must be killed, speaks volume of their inconceivable ignorance.
"It does appear to me that the same people who keep hammering on the amount accrued to Akpabio's regime don't do that because the love the State. They merely gloat over those funds (most of them drew from either directly or inadvertently), out of envy, ingratitude and hard hatred.
Senator Akpabio is the only Governor in the state to have instituted investigative panels to probe the administration of his predecessor, despite being a part of the probed administration.
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