By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
The media aides of the Akwa Ibom State Governor have described as baseless and laughable, the insinuation that their principal, Mr Udom Emmanuel ordered security clampdown on dissenting voices in the state. The aides however, expressed worries that the peaceful and tolerant disposition of the governor has propelled all manner of campaigns of calumny against his person and government. Making the reactions while interacting with journalists in Uyo on Thursday, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Research and Documentation, Mr. Essien Ndueso, who spoke on behalf of other aides, described Governor Emmanuel as a transparent and accommodating leader who has eschewed political bias in his administration of the state. They reasoned that these attributes by the governor has explained why a lawyer, Leo Ekpenyong, could throw caution to the wind and go all out to attack the personality of the governor. Recall Leo Ekpenyong Esq. is standing in Uyo High Court for accusing Governor Emmanuel of bribing some judges to secure judgement in 2019 in favour of Senator Chris Ekpenyong who had defeated Senator Godswill Akpabio to represent the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District of the state at the Senate. “The peaceable and tolerant disposition of Governor Udom Emmanuel has propelled all manners of insidious calumnious campaigns against his person and his government.
“For example, the allegation that the governor is ordering the security clampdown on dissenting voices is very baseless and rather laughable. But that itself can best be answered by the court of public opinion, where every member of the public can see in Mr Emmanuel, a transparent and accommodating leader who has eschewed political bias in his administration of the state.
“This perhaps explains why a lawyer, Leo Ekpenyong, could throw caution to the wing and go all out to attack the personality of the Governor, accusing him of bribing some judges to secure judgement in 2019 in favour of Senator Chris Ekpenyong who had defeated Senator Godswill Akpabio”, the Media Aides deposited. Making reference to Barr Inibehe Effiong’s conduct at the Court which earned him a six-month jail term, the governor’s aides are of the opinion that Femi Falana and Co. do not mean well for Barr. Inibehe Effiong, else they would have tutored him on how a lawyer should conduct himself in the Court. The aides said they are counting days for the convicted lawyer, Inibehe Effiong to exhaust his sentence so that the substantive case of defamation against Leo Ekpenyong instituted by Governor Udom Emmanuel against him could resume in court. Describing the court case instituted by Falana and those they described as ’12 disciples’ against the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State as ill-motivated, the governor’s aides maintained that the court case won’t prevent justice from being done on the matter. “The suit is a wrong gospel by Femi Falana, SAN and his twelve disciples. Such wrong gospel cannot win any legal soul in their favour and that of their drowning client, Mr Inibehe Effiong. All we want is that justice should be served, and timely too. We are waiting patiently”. “Today, it is quite sad and embarrassing that the plot by convicted lawyer Inibehe Effiong through outdated tactics to delay justice on the defamation suit against Barr Leo Ekpenyong can receive the signatures of 13 lawyers in the guise of suing the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, His Lordship, Justice Ekaette Obot over a demand that is purely administrative”. “It is evident that Femi Falana, SAN, and his co-lawyers do not mean well for Barrister Inibehe Effiong. Otherwise, they would have been more concerned about teaching him how the Court works outside Facebook and other social media where his legal practice flourishes more to the point that he was already assuming the status of a self-appointed solicitor general on Facebook. It was this illusion that blinded him into daring a legitimate law Court presided over by a State Chief Judge”.
“For example, the allegation that the governor is ordering the security clampdown on dissenting voices is very baseless and rather laughable. But that itself can best be answered by the court of public opinion, where every member of the public can see in Mr Emmanuel, a transparent and accommodating leader who has eschewed political bias in his administration of the state.
“This perhaps explains why a lawyer, Leo Ekpenyong, could throw caution to the wing and go all out to attack the personality of the Governor, accusing him of bribing some judges to secure judgement in 2019 in favour of Senator Chris Ekpenyong who had defeated Senator Godswill Akpabio”, the Media Aides deposited. Making reference to Barr Inibehe Effiong’s conduct at the Court which earned him a six-month jail term, the governor’s aides are of the opinion that Femi Falana and Co. do not mean well for Barr. Inibehe Effiong, else they would have tutored him on how a lawyer should conduct himself in the Court. The aides said they are counting days for the convicted lawyer, Inibehe Effiong to exhaust his sentence so that the substantive case of defamation against Leo Ekpenyong instituted by Governor Udom Emmanuel against him could resume in court. Describing the court case instituted by Falana and those they described as ’12 disciples’ against the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State as ill-motivated, the governor’s aides maintained that the court case won’t prevent justice from being done on the matter. “The suit is a wrong gospel by Femi Falana, SAN and his twelve disciples. Such wrong gospel cannot win any legal soul in their favour and that of their drowning client, Mr Inibehe Effiong. All we want is that justice should be served, and timely too. We are waiting patiently”. “Today, it is quite sad and embarrassing that the plot by convicted lawyer Inibehe Effiong through outdated tactics to delay justice on the defamation suit against Barr Leo Ekpenyong can receive the signatures of 13 lawyers in the guise of suing the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, His Lordship, Justice Ekaette Obot over a demand that is purely administrative”. “It is evident that Femi Falana, SAN, and his co-lawyers do not mean well for Barrister Inibehe Effiong. Otherwise, they would have been more concerned about teaching him how the Court works outside Facebook and other social media where his legal practice flourishes more to the point that he was already assuming the status of a self-appointed solicitor general on Facebook. It was this illusion that blinded him into daring a legitimate law Court presided over by a State Chief Judge”.
