Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar yesterday continued tour of states controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with a visit to Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel at the Government House in Uyo.
He was accompanied by former governors Adamu Muazu (Bauchi); Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and one-time Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye.
Atiku, who decried the state of the economy, said Nigeria, comparatively, fared better under the watch of the PDP Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The former vice president said: “Just compare the economic indices during the PDP and also the APC reign, the growth in GDP and industrialisation and other sectors of the economy, we did extremely well and we also promoted the growth of the private sector.”
Atiku, who was a leader of the APC at inception, defected to contest against President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. He lost the presidential election to the incumbent.
He appreciated the massive economic development and infrastructural transformation of Akwa Ibom State, commending previous leaders in the state for their selfless contributions that laid the foundation for industrial growth.
He said: “Quite a number of things have endeared me to Governor Udom Emmanuel, the infrastructural development in the state, the other sectors of the economy in the state particularly the industrialization policy of the governor and couple with social sector development health care and education these are very key areas of human development and he has not left them untouched.”
“He has made a very remarkable impact so that actually impressed me. I used to come to this state when it was barely nothing; and I want to pay tributes to ex-governor Victor Attah, who laid the foundation this state today.
“We are here today to further cement that relationship, that brotherhood so that we can further take this state to the next level and the country also to the next level.
“We want to commend your brotherly welcome and hospitality extended to us, which we acknowledge Akwa Ibom is at the top.”
Muazu, who described Emmanuel as a silent achiever, said: “Governor Udom Emmanuel has done so well with little noise in Akwa Ibom State, and has also succeeded in taming those that do not know that their tenure ends in eight years.
“He is one of the few with the ability to ensure that our party the PDP remains united.”
Emmanuel described Atiku as a detribalised leader who is committed towards the growth and progress of the nation.
The governor told Atiku: “You are someone that we admire, today if you check the leaders of this country there are few leaders like you who are highly detribalised.”
Emmanuel said that Akwa Ibom, though richly endowed with mineral resources, has not been given a fair share of its resources, lamenting the deprivation of the state evident in the near absence of federal government projects.
He said: “You are one of the leaders I believe if God had given you an opportunity earlier than now, probably, Akwa Ibom wouldn’t have been where we are now, we have been badly cheated.
“A state that sits on 36.5 per cent oil and gas reserves of this nation let them tell you what the federal government’s presence is, every single dual-carriage way you drive here is done by the state government, every single structure you see in the state outside the Police they posted to me they have not given me anything.
“I don’t even have a depot to store downstream petrol”.
