Akwa Ibom APC Guber Candidate Tackles State Govt over Ownership of Ibom Air
Heads to Appeal Court over his candidacy
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State, Akanimo Udofia, has debunked an allegation by the state government that he was claiming ownership of Ibom Airlines.
Udofia has also decided to appeal the Federal High Court’s judgment, which nullified the party's primary that produced him as the governorship candidate.
A statement by the Akanimo Udofia Campaign Council stressed that the allegation authored by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom (SAN), was an attempt to gloss over the facts of the matter.
In the statement, which was signed by Imo Akpan of the Campaign Council, the group however said the idea to float the airline was first mooted by former Governor Godswill Akpabio and not the current Governor, Udom Emmanuel.
“Rather than patronising roadside gossip, surfing social media and issuing unfounded threats, the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State must do more. He must go further and address the issue of ownership, funding and cost of maintaining the aircraft in the fleet as Akwa Ibom people are interested in the profitability of the venture,” the statement added.
The statement accused the Akwa
Ibom government of ‘peddling falsehood' against the APC chieftain, adding that the fact that the state has become a hub for Air Traffic Control (ATC) staff, is a testimony to the efforts by Udofia who lobbied to secure the ATC status for Obong Attah International Airport.
“Our principal, Obong Akanimo Udofia did not lay claim to ownership of Ibom Airlines or any aircraft in its fleet. There is no evidence anywhere that such a claim was made. The video referred to clearly does not make that claim; so, it is embarrassing for Mr. Udom to accuse our principal of wrongdoing.
“For the avoidance of doubts, the idea of Ibom Airlines Limited was not conceived by Governor Udom
Emmanuel contrary to what Mr. Udom would want the world to believe when he said the idea of Ibom Air was conceived and executed by Governor Udom Emmanuel, who at the time was a staff of Zenith Bank Plc.
“Nothing could be farther from the truth as records show that Ibom Airlines Limited was incorporated in 2013 by Governor Godswill Akpabio after our principal shared the idea of an airline with him sometime in 2012.
“The man hailed as the uncommon transformer thereafter visited the Bombardier facility in Toulouse in France to further explore the possibility of giving life to our principal’s vision. The fact is, Ibom Airlines Limited that Mr. Udom Emmanuel inherited as Governor in 2015 was our principal’s brainchild,” Akpan argued.
He added that in furtherance of the ‘shared vision', Akpabio then sponsored 32 Akwa Ibom indigenes for training in ATC in various institutions abroad.
“These graduates are today working in several airports in Nigeria. Obong Akan Udofia then trained the first female pilot of Akwa Ibom descent.
“Our principal from 2019 went on to lobby his friends in the Aviation Ministry and Nigerian Airforce to secure the ATC status for Obong Attah International Airport. This has culminated in our state being the hub for ATC in Nigeria today,” the campaign team argued.
The statement further noted that the Attorney General’s claim that the airline is owned 100 per cent by Akwa Ibom State, was untrue, stating that Ibom Airlines Limited “is not owned by Akwa Ibom State (government)” and is incapable of being owned in a legal sense.
“For the purpose of enlightenment, Ibom Airlines Limited is a limited liability company and therefore a juristic person. The so-called SAN ought to appreciate this fine piece of jurisprudence.”
Meanwhile, Udofia has also decided to appeal the Federal High Court’s judgment in Uyo, which nullified the party's primary that produced him as the governorship candidate.
Recall that Justice AA Okeke in her judgment nullified the Akwa Ibom APC primary and held that Udofia was not qualified to contest the primary of the party because he was not a member of the APC.
But addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, the Director General of the Akan Udofia Campaign Council, Mr. Don Etim, insisted that Udofia has confidence in the judiciary and would take immediate steps to appeal the judgment and recover the mandate freely conferred on him by the members of the party.