Worried about the unending investigations and litigations against the Akwa Ibom state governor, Pastor Umo Eno over alleged forgery of his WAEC result, a matter decided and rested by supreme court before the 2023 elections, Revd. Richard Peters of the African church Uyo has appealed to Akwa ibom people to rise in defense of their governor.
The Clergy who addressed Journalists on Friday in Uyo against the backdrop of the recent suit at a Lagos High Court in which the police is seeking a fresh order to compel the Heads of WAEC to surrender Pastor Umo Eno’s records to restart investigations of the same certificate described it a politically motivated and detestable.
According to him, “The new order for fresh investigation has nothing to do with justice but rather further mudsling of his character, integrity and dent of the image of the person of Pastor Umo Eno, a serious propaganda and desecration of the exalted office of the governor of Akwa ibom state.
“The whole essence of these onslaught is to weaken him and completely distract him from governance which he was recently elected to serve by the people and make him fail as a governor but they have failed. The Umo Eno we know don’t fail for such gimmicks, In the build up to the 2023 elections, he was face with over 12 litigations in the various courts over similar and sundry issues, he expressed confidence in the ability of the judiciary to bring the truth and finally he triumphed”.
The acclaimed good governance Advocate further highlighted, “Gov Umo Eno had earlier said before his clearance by the supreme court on the same certificate matter that if found guilty of forging his WAEC certificates, that he will not only quit politics but also his pastoral calling which is a bold statement from a man who has nothing to hide from anyone”.
He lamented that these unending investigation and probe is nothing but calculated distractions as Akwa ibom people will not judge his administration by it stressing that even if foreign police are deployed for same purpose, the result will not be different from the earlier results.
The clergy appealed to concerned Akwa ibom people at home and in diaspora to rise against the smear campaign and maligning of the person and office of their governor adding that in other climes, governance starts after elections and politics but in the state, a few individuals and their allies are bent on pulling down a constituted authority using every available means including blackmailing a sitting governor.
“Whatever legal means it takes us to stop further damage on the personality of the governor must be done, why fresh investigation on a matter that transcended Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and ended in Supreme Court in favor of U just few months ago, this is a pure smear campaign and no longer seeking justice as the supreme court has long dished out justice. They are now operating on the realms of smear campaigns. What further evidence are they looking for from the same WAEC, is it to delist Umo Eno’s name from those who took the exams that year? I am a concerned Akwa ibom citizen and together we will resist further mudsling of the character and integrity of our governor”.
