Okon Bassey in Uyo
The governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Akwa Ibom State, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, has been criticised for allegedly verbally attacking the state governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Umo Bassey Eno.
Akpan, popularly called OBA in the state, had during his ward-to-ward campaigns in Ibeno Local Government Area of the state challenged Eno to publish the names of the 2,000 employees he boasted to have employed, arguing that it was impossible for his hotel (Royalty Hotel) to have such staff strength.
He also stressed that the salary of the employees in the hotel was not up to a minimum wage, noting that a good number of workers in the hotel receive as low as N15,000 per month.
Akpan said: “I challenge the governorship candidate of the PDP, Umo Eno, to publish the 2,000 names he claimed to have employed in his hotel business. I put it to you that the salary of the employees of Eno is not up to a minimum wage. He pays N15,000 monthly.
While reacting, some concerned citizens condemned the comments of Senator Akpan, saying he has failed to concentrate on issues and his blueprint instead deviated to attacking fellow candidate who may be “better than him.”
One of the employees of the Royalty Group own by Eno, who identified himself as Samuel Etim, in an interview, said the comments of Akpan was a propaganda, disclosing that employees in offshore of the company receive N150,000 monthly, as he challenged anyone to go and verify.
He noted that Royalty Group is a conglomerate and not just a hotel, stressing that the staff strength of the company is over 2,000.
Another insider identified as Mr. Udoma argued that before you would be considered as a contractor in a multinational oil and gas company like Exxon Mobil for services (which Royalty Group does) you must have certain number of staff who you must be able to pay on your own, “and Umo Eno has fit into that space,” saying the business has been running for over two decades.
Also speaking, a social critic and cleric in the state, Reverend Richard Peters, described as petty and ridiculous for the YPP candidate to ask Eno to publish the names of his employees just to prove that they are up to 2,000 people as he claims.
He said due to privacy policy, companies, and even government, don’t publish the names of their employees just to prove a point unless for an internal memo.
Peters said: “It is so sad that OBA is asking Eno to publish the names of the 2,000 people that he employed. Very ridiculous and petty! Growing companies do not publish the names of their workers because of their privacy policy; even a company as big as Dangote Group doesn’t publish names of its workers for the public, as well as the government, except for an internal memo.
“For him to say that showed that he has no knowledge of corporate governance and it is an attempt to mislead the people and defend himself of many years of ineffectiveness in governance.”
Speaking on the certificate saga, Peters said: “Thank God he has acknowledged that Eno has a certificate, and he is qualified to be the governor of the state, because the constitution said for you to be the president or governor in Nigeria you must at least pass through the secondary school level.”
He, however, advised Akpan to borrow a leaf from the way PDP candidate goes about his campaigns focusing on his capacity and what he would do for the Akwa Ibom people and not smearing fellow candidates.
“Umo Eno seemed prepared. If you listen to his campaigns, he focuses on issues-What he has done as an entrepreneur and what he would do when given the mandate, and not to attack any of his opponents. In his conversations, he deals with issues. I noticed that he has never attacked or ridiculed any of the party candidates,” the cleric said.
