By Imoh Usen

After the 2019 governorship election was won by Governor Udom Emmanuel, there was a popular clamour among his supporters that the State Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Comrade Ini Ememobong should be appointed the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy . Till date the agitation persists.

This is a glaring vote of no confidence on the current Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Charles Udoh. Never in the history of Akwa Ibom State has the information machinery been handed over to a group of clueless and incompetent people. Today, rightly or wrongly, Governor Udom Emmanuel is widely seen as a wicked, clueless, unfeeling, and incompetent leader who care less about the welfare of the people of Akwa Ibom State despite the humongous amount the State receives monthly from the Federation Account. 

During the immediate past dispensation that the current Member representing Abak – Etim Ekpo – Ika Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Aniekan Umanah held sway as the Commissioner for Information, you could accuse him of many things but not that he was incompetent. Nothing he did plunged the State's information machinery into chaos like we are witnessing today.

Since the COVID 19 saga, more than at any other time, outings by the Akwa Ibom State Government media team  have been disastrous. The media team has an inept leader, Mr Charles Udoh. Fearing the spread of coronavirus in Akwa Ibom State, there were agitations for Governor Udom Emmanuel to order closure of all schools and lockdown the State as were being done by many other Nigeria State Governors. 

In fairness to Governor Emmanuel, he actually responded decisively. But, his response was not adequately communicated to the people. Instead of emphasizing his order to have all schools shut on a certain day, what his media team communicated to the public was the Governor defending and rationalizing his decision not to shut down schools.

Does it sound confusing? No, it does not. Look at what it is this way: major newspapers, which reported the Governor’s first broadcast, had as headlines: “Akwa Ibom: we won’t shut down schools.” In the true sense, the Governor did order schools to be shut within one week, but this was not adequately and properly put out. The problem was that of miscommunication which portrayed the Governor as being insensitive and uncaring for the well being of the people. The damage had already been done!!

Next, the number one image maker of the State, Mr Charles Udoh appeared on an interview programme in a local radio. He was asked what measures the Government had put in place to cushion the effect of the pandemic. His haughty response was that Akwa Ibom State has a population of seven million people therefore, the Government cannot afford to distribute hand sanitizers and food to everyone! Are you kidding me! Yes, that came from the Commissioner for Information and Strategy.

Soon after, Akwa Ibom people began to read about and see on the social media efforts that individuals and governments are making to ameliorate the suffering of the people during this time. Efforts include the distribution of hand sanitizers, food items and cash gifts to the people. 

In any case, was it not the same Governor Emmanuel who, during the elections season and such as never experienced before , literally broke into the State vaults in order to indulge vote in buying spree? Did his Party agents not invade most households in each electoral unit to share cash? People have asked why he can't do so now to ameliorate the problem that people are going through at this time. Have you seen the viral video of the Akwa Ibom widow who threw herself to the ground, defied securitymen  and lamented about the hunger that she and her children were going through during this lockdown? 

The following day after Mr. Charles Udoh's interview, as if on a counter mission, Comrade Ini Ememobong, launched a media blitz, hitting the streets to distribute hand sanitizers to the people through his foundation. Comrade Ini Ememobong has since been doing what Charles Udoh said was impossible for the State Government to do. That was another major public relations disaster for Governor Udom Emmanuel.

Next, Akwa Ibom State branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), through its Public Relations Officer, raised concerns about the level preparedness by the State Government with regards to handling the coronavirus pandemic. Charles Udoh's response was to impute political motives to that legitimate concern and shout down the Publicity Secretary. 

But, the NMA official, who claimed to be an ardent supporter of the Governor, had won the hearts of Akwa Ibom people for telling the truth to power. In their usual crude and reactive nature, media aides of the Commissioner of Information fell over themselves to write about the number of “ventilators" made available by the State Government. 

In a bid to justify the wishful thinking of Governor Emmanuel that Coronavirus can never enter Akwa Ibom State, Charles Udoh in conjunction with the Commissioner for Health, Dr Dominic Ukpong held a Press Conference to announce their rejection of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) declaration that five index cases in Akwa Ibom State had tested positive for coronavirus. I have never seen any other State in the country receive so much bashing on social media like was given to Akwa Ibom. Mr. Charles Udoh, whom we are told wrote the script of that infamous Press Conference, made Akwa Ibom State a laughing stock in the comity of States.

It is by the Charles Udoh's unstrategic and convoluted information management practices that Governor Udom Emmanuel has been rated the worst performing Governor in Nigeria with regards to preparations against COVID 19 spread. Please look up "The Best and the Worst Performing Governors So Far" list.

This is hardly surprising in the Udom Emmanuel Government in which incompetence has been elevated to State policy, especially by a clique of Akwa Ibom State Government officials popularly referred to as “Lagos Returnees”. Governor Udom Emmanuel is their cheerleader. 

Nobody can point to a single project that the Governor has initiated and completed in five years. Akwa Ibom people refer to his so-called industries as “audio industries” because they are either not operational or have not been adequately explained to the people. 

Gov. Udom Emmanuel's band of media aides know nothing about sensible and effective communication. Their areas of specialization are swarming on social media to insult critic of the government and to copy and paste poorly written stories about the State Government. What sustains their hatchet jobs is the ability to abuse Senator Godswill Akpabio.

They take a cue from Mr Charles Udoh. The man is so obsessed with Senator Akpabio that few days ago he said on radio that the Ibom Specialist Hospital built and commissioned by the administration of Governor Akpabio was not roofed. This is the same hospital that the then Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole as quoted by a report in PREMIUM TIMES, said he had never seen such a complex in Nigeria.

The report reads in part: "The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, made this promise on Saturday in Uyo while inspecting facilities at the Akwa Ibom government’s owned Ibom Specialist Hospital.

"Mr. Adewole noted that with facilities at Ibom Specialist Hospital, medical tourism abroad can be reversed.
“Visiting the hospital complex today is an eye opener, there is no such complex like this anywhere in Nigeria,” the minister said.

"He announced that with the proposed partnership, no Nigerian would be allowed to go abroad for treatment on government sponsorship from Jan. 2017... with this facility, no Nigerian will be allowed to go abroad for treatment,” Mr. Adewole said.

This is the same hospital that Mr Charles Udoh and many privileged government officials were treated during the collapse of The Reigners Bible Church. But because he has to bash Senator Akpabio to keep his job today the hospital is not roofed. So much for incompetence!

Stop using nairaland to launch attacks on people and states.

Learn to work with those you met on ground and don't be so arrogant.