I Never Called Akwa Ibom People Illiterates- Gov. Udom

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel has rubbished a
publication that claimed he called the people of his State illiterates saying,
there is no way he would have called them that. Udom said as a matter of fact, his
people, the people of Akwa Ibom are some of the most brilliant people on the face
of the earth and wondered why someone would have quoted him to have called them
illiterates.

The Governor who spoke through his chief press secretary,
Mr. Ekerete Udoh, said;

“It is utterly mischievous for someone to write such a
fabrication.”

“At a time the great people of Akwa Ibom State have risen,
and are utilising their God-given potential, at a time the spirit of greatness
and a distinct Akwa Ibom spirit and identity are being celebrated through the
philosophy of ‘dakkada’, it smacks of desperation and malicious intent for a
reporter to write such an obtuse and inane story. Continue…

“At the well-received media briefing I had with the great
people of Akwa Ibom State last Sunday, I said that I would not be distracted by
the antics of people who do not understand the workings of government and how
policies are formulated, but who constantly go to the media to say things they
are not informed about, or lack proper understanding of.

“How does that translate into my calling Akwa Ibom people
illiterates? Akwa Ibom people are some of the most brilliant people on the face
of the earth, and I am eminently proud of our people, which is the reason I
launched the ‘dakkada’ movement, to show the world that we are great and
inspired people.”

The Governor described as preposterous the notion that the
recently recruited civil servants would not be paid their salary this year,
explaining that he only said that “the civil service would be sanitized to weed
out ghost workers and this is in line with his policy of ensuring transparency
and integrity in the civil service.”