VA former senator and ex-minister, John Akpanudoedehe, has said he will not descend into personal attacks against Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State after Mr Eno made remarks considered derogatory toward the former senator and his administration’s critics.
Mr Eno had said he was nobody’s receptionist and was unavailable to answer phone calls, after Mr Akpanudoedehe posted a Facebook video in which he advised the governor not to let Akwa Ibom lose the battle over the disputed 76 oil wells with the neighbouring Cross River State.
The former senator said he chose a Facebook video because the governor would not take calls from him or others.
“Empty barrels,” Mr Eno, without mentioning a name, had described the former senator and other critics.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr Akpanudoedehe on Monday for his reaction, he said he would refrain from engaging in what he described as “insults”.
“There are things to respond to immediately. There are things you are not supposed to respond to. You allow Akwa Ibom people to judge,” he said.
“I did not hear him mention my name, but assuming he is referring to my video, I don’t respond to insults. I was advising him. I don’t want to go to the gutters with him.”
The exchange follows Mr Eno’s remarks on Sunday, 1 March, during a church service at the Government House, Uyo, where he rejected criticisms that he was inaccessible to the public.
“There are many ways to reach the governor,” Mr Eno said. “Stop saying the governor does not pick up the phone. Am I your receptionist? That is even an insult to say the governor does not answer calls. Who are you? Who is even talking?”
Taking a swipe at unnamed critics, the governor added, “When people discuss all these things, it does not have meaning. Empty barrels make noise. Check their lives from beginning to the end, they have nothing to show—just noise.”
Although Mr Eno did not mention any name, the instances cited in his remarks pointed to Mr Akpanudoedehe’s recent public statement regarding the 76 oil wells.
In his reaction, the former senator said his earlier comments were intended as advice, not an attack.
“I expected him to say, ‘Senator Udoedehe and other citizens who have shared thoughts on the issue, thank you for your advice. Even I won’t forgive myself if they take even one oil well from the state.’ It is not an insult,” he said.
“What he said shows his level. It is beneath me. I am bigger than that. I wasn’t in any way insulting him. I was advising him because of my vantage position and what I hear.”
The former senator added that if Mr Eno’s comments were directed at him, they reflected poorly on the governor’s character.
“If he is speaking about me and said those things, it reflects his upbringing and character. I am not at that level. I won’t respond immediately. Once you say something, you think through it.”
The Akwa Ibom State Government later said that Governor Eno was merely joking when he made the remarks.