Frank Okon, Udoedehe: Akpabio on heat, cancels enlarged Exco meet, visits

The recent supreme court of Nigeria decision to return the case involving Se. JJ Akpanudoedehe to be tried on merit against the earlier alleged corruption ridden technicalities that struck out the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN’S) petition against Akpabio and his ruling Peoples Democractic Party (PDP) is said to be placing the Governor on heat, forcing him to be elusive, reclusive necessitating the cancellation of the enlarge Executive meeting on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 Insight can authoritatively report.
The enlarge Exco meeting is usually the last meeting for the year and it involves all the players in the system but the one scheduled for last Monday could not hold due to the confusion said to be very visible in the camp of chief Akpabio, according to a reliable government source who pleaded for anonymity.
Weekend Insight reliably gathered that two features: senator JJ Udoedehe and Engr.Frank Okon cases had propelled the cancellation of the enlarge Exco meeting and other visits as the source said the Governor chief Godswill Akpabio was dully troubled by the supreme court decision to order a retrial of the case on merit hence, to avoid unnecessary destructions by those who would come to see him.
The source told this reporter that the cancellations were necessary because, they afforded His Excellency and his inner circle members the occasion to crack their brain on how to tackle the monster rearing its ugly head in the form of a retrial.
He told us that the Engineer Frank Okon’s case has been on the jugular of the Governor and that Udoedehe’s case thought to have been dispensed with is now placing the Governor on the defensive given the sensitive nature of the case.
He said that “given the political situation in Bayelsa state which the incumbent Mr. Trimipre Sylva lost out and the presidency did nothing; it was imperative for the Akwa Ibom State man to be worried because as it stands anything can happen”, he said
He stressed that the case involving Senator Akpanudoedehe might be considered as high but on its merit, the burden of proofs and other related incidents that will be deployed in form of evidence are indeed witty.
Again, the source said “the case involving Frank (Okon) comes up in less than a month’s time. This is one case that has troubled even the PDP national takless of the Governor.
“I understand that there’re people who go about deceiving His Excellency that the case is a light one but he’s not so easily deceived.
“You may not know how troubled, confused and discreet he has become lately because he doesn’t want people to notice his frustration” and adding that the seeming frustration informed partly “the cancellation of the enlarge Exco meeting and so many other visits the governor had approved for Monday through Tuesday before he jetted out to Abuja where he was billed to be conferred with an Award by the federal college of Technology, Yabba, Lagos, Thursday.
Meanwhile, Ministries, Departments and Agencies continue to groan in abject lack as almost all the ministries, Departments and Agencies approached by this paper complained of lack of funds to execute projects embarked upon by them.
Last Week, the State took delivery of N21.9 billion :its share of the federal allocation to state/ 13 percent derivative fund and question are being ask as to what has happened to such huge sum just days after it was released.
In another development, civil servants have vowed to frustrate the Governor if there were to be a cancellation of the election and a rerun ordered by the court.
Although most believe the Governor might still win, majority argued that “even if the governor in desperation approves N22, 000 as minimum wage, “we will take it because it’s our money, because it’s our statutory right but we won’t vote him because the lies are much and we have learned greatly our lesson though belatedly”, they said.