WE SAW A RAINBOW WHEN AKPABIO PRESENTED UDOM TO GOD –DR. UDO

WE SAW A RAINBOW WHEN AKPABIO PRESENTED UDOM TO GOD –DR. UDO

Senior Special Assistant to Governor Godswill Akpabio on Power and Managing Director of Ibom Power Company, Mr. Victor Udo, recounts experience, extols Akpabio and Udom. In an on-the-spot chat, he also gives highlights on electricity situation in the state. Excerpt:

As an unbiased umpire, what would you say has been the achievement of Governor Godswill Akpabio, and what are your expectations for the incoming government of Udom Emmanuel?

It is always good to talk about my boss, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, and I also have a lot of passion for the incoming Governor, Deacon Udom Emmanuel. I said somewhere that in the current administration, we prayed “Let God’s Will Be Done,” and God’s will has been done. For the incoming administration, we are saying “Emmanuel: God Is With Us.” This is to say that God’s will has been done and God has come to dwell with us. To me, it is the fulfillment of the name of our state, Akwa Abasi Ibom State. The outgoing and the incoming Governors are both great sons of the state. They are people that fear God, Chief Akpabio in particular is a nontribal person and he is well respected across Nigeria. The other day I went to Bida in Niger State and all the people were calling me the Uncommon Transformation. This is because we have a leader that has taken our state to that level of recognition. This is something that we all should be very proud of.

During the interdenominational service in honour of the Governor and his wife at Ibom Hall Grounds, I saw women crying when the Governor literally brought in Udom Emmanuel as his successor. Chief Akpabio is a leader that we have been praying for and God will continue to use him. He is not perfect because no human being is perfect, but as he continues to serve the people, God will continue to prosper him to be able to speak for us across the country and the world.

I do not want to talk about his achievements because they are there for everyone to see. The free education policy and the free medical care for the people. Not to even talk about my area, the Power Sector. It is the greatest thing that people don’t know about. He has given us the building block in power, gas facility, power generating plant, transmission lines, investments in power distribution and transformers to most villages. And for these, the greatest thing he has done is to make sure someone that will build on these accomplishments succeeds him. Because it would have been a terrible thing for all of these foundations to be laid and a wrong person come to build upon it.

So, Udom Emmanuel is someone that I am well pleased and comfortable with. He is a man with passion. Let me tell you this, we saw a rain bow when the Governor presented Udom to God. It was very symbolic during the Church Service, after Chief Akpabio introduced and handed over to Udom in the presence of the people and men of God, we saw a rainbow behind the Chief Akpabio. It might not mean anything to the people but to me that was symbolic. That showed that there is a covenant between the people with God. And as Deacon of the Qua Iboe Church, you can be assured that the things he promised he will fulfill. I want to also assure the people that the dream that we have been having for the state is going to be fulfilled through Udom Emmanuel and I am very happy to have been part of the success story.

I believe Akwa Ibom is going to be an island of great opportunity and success. It has been great all the way and I believe as Chief Akpabio hands over, he is not going to run away. It is going to be a great teamwork. There will be no Abuja front or home front but Akwa Ibom front at home, Abuja and the rest of the world. So, we should be very grateful to God.

Recently, there has been noticeable fluctuation in power supply and at time total blackout. What is the way out?

I am not going to speak for the incoming Governor because I know he is much focused and has a plan. He knows the challenges of power as far as Akwa Ibom is concerned. We are blessed to have a Governor like Godswill Akpabio who saw ahead of other government and invested in gas. The major problem of power in Nigeria is gas. But today, we have gas in Akwa Ibom, we have power generating plant and transmission lines. The reason we are not seeing steady power is because of the privatization which has given the distribution of power to a private company, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC), that is still learning the game.

There is power in Akwa Ibom but the company is purposely not delivering the power to the people because in their minds, the people were not going to pay bills. This is something the incoming Governor is aware of and will certainly handle. Once the distribution management problem is solved, there is no reason Akwa Ibom will not have steady power supply. So, it is a pure commercial reason that the people are not having power and this is something we must holistically look at; because in fairness, power is not free and it is very expensive. So, basically it is really a commercial issue right now.

What about the issue of pay-as-you-use. That is the prepaid meter?

What people need to know are two things. The prepaid meters are not free and are expensive. We have the issue of people who said they have paid for it but have not been given. This is because the meters are not available right now. Again, there is no justification for the distribution company to be in a rush to import them because they get more money by estimating. When they estimate, they can charge you whatever they want. That is why the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, the only legalized body that can enforce regulation and standard, is coming in.

The distribution company really need to sit-up, give the service and charge people accordingly. So, prepaid is good but it is expensive. Ultimately, I believe since the state government own about 12 per cent share of PHEDC, the incoming administration will have to look at that for the distribution of power in the state. There is no excuse for the people of the state not to have steady power after all the investment we have made as a state.

Advice for the incoming government

Well, nothing more but to congratulate the Governor of this state, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, my boss. I want to thank him for giving me an opportunity to be a part of his team. I want to also thank God for blessing him with a good wife and family and for making him what he is today. I also want to congratulate the incoming Governor, Deacon Udom Gabriel Emmanuel that God has brought to us to continue and consolidate on what his predecessor has done in order to ensure sustainable development. In all, I want to thank God that Akwa Ibom is on the “Right Side, the Ubok Udom Abasi, Udom Emmanuel.”