One month after Engr. Meyen Etukudoh, the former Managing Director of the Akwa Ibom state-owned power firm Ibom Power firm, was abruptly fired, Governor Umo Eno made a statement.
At the second day of the ongoing Inter Ministerial Briefings/End of Year Review in Uyo on Tuesday, the governor, who has stayed silent in the face of public outrage over the dismissal of the previous MD, stated that the action was required to bring stability and progress back to the power industry.
Remember how the state’s troubled MD claimed in a news release after a four-day power outage that the blackout was caused by Acugas, the gas supplier, failing to supply gas to the plant, and that the state owed it?
A few hours later, Prince Enobong Uwah, the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, issued a second announcement declaring the Ibom Power MD’s immediate dismissal without providing an explanation.
Nonetheless, it was well known that Etukudoh’s situation was closely related to the press release that was thought to be a mockery of the state administration.
Speaking at the banquet hall, Governor Eno confirmed the public’s conjectures by asserting that public officials are not permitted to make press releases without the proper authority’s approval.
Given that the state owed Acugas N40 billion, he questioned why the beleaguered MD chose to issue unapproved press statements accusing Acugas of abruptly cutting off the gas supply rather than using diplomacy to deal with the corporation.
Eno praised the youths for their calm demeanor and added that if the Akwa Ibom teenagers were foolish and unreasonable, they could have set fire to Acuga’s facilities without understanding the true nature of the situation. He called the statement provocative.
The governor also declared that a power summit would be held in the state from January to March 2025, bringing together key players and experts in the energy sector to create a Power Master Plan that will act as a spur for the state’s industrial development and growth.
He stated that a 24-hour power supply in the state is feasible and granted a matching order to the Commissioner for Power, Engr. Camillus Umoh, to guarantee its implementation.
In his words, “There are things I don’t want to say here because I don’t want to be misquoted but I can tell you as a sitting governor for 18 months, the only time I got a brief from Ibom power was when the Honourable Commissioner for power took over the place (Ibom Power). Such a critical asset?
“Even though I visited the place, nobody made any effort to reach out to me.
“So when we took decisions we took and people complained, in any case it is a government appointed job and you can’t be there forever, there are other people that will come and go.
“I have a tenured job and the day my tenure ends, I’m gone. The pressure that was mounted was not necessary and as public servants, we all know that you can’t issue a press statement without clearance from the right authority.
“Sometimes people abuse simplicity. They believe that the governor is very simple, he can sit on the floor and play with everybody then we take advantage of that and cross the line.
“But as I said, the issue is that we are going to set up a power infrastructure committee to work with the honourable commissioner and other power stakeholders to hold a power summit and tell us the way forward and this must happen between January and March, it is an emergency.
“We are owing the gas company N40 billion, that is 7.9 million dollars you are owing them and you come out to make a press statement that they have cut off power.
“Assuming we have youths that are irrational, that company would have been burnt down by now.
“You are owning somebody and still shouting, the right thing to do would have been to beg.
“The greatest pain of this was an MD going on leave and handing over everything to a contractor and even putting it in writing for him to be in charge of the plant.
“I don’t know where that is done. It’s just like handing over your vehicle to a mechanic and saying ‘if it has a problem let me know’, definitely that vehicle must develop a problem because the mechanic must eat.”
