The former Commissioner for Economic Development and Ibom Deep Seaport in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Akan Okon, has said he discharged his duties with integrity and service to the people.
He said that is why the anti-graft agencies are not after him after leaving his office as the State’s commissioner for finance.
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Okon, who recently resigned his appointment to contest the 2023 governorship election in the state, stated that his leadership experience in public service is one of his strengths in the race.
Mr Okon, while thanking the governor for the opportunity to serve the state, said he delivered on assignments given to him in all the ministries he headed.
“While in office, God helped me, I discharged my duties and the various assignments given to me creditably.
“I joined Akwa Ibom State Government in 2013 and my first assignment was at the Ministry of Economic Development.
“I spent six months there as Commissioner and at the end of six months, I was moved to the Ministry of Finance where I served until the end of that administration led by Governor Godswill Akpabio.
“When Governor Udom Emmanuel won the election in 2015 and was sworn in as Governor, I was reappointed into that office.
“That has made me keep the record as the only person to serve two Governors as Finance Commissioner. I want to say that I served in that office with integrity.
“Why am I saying so? In Nigeria, the easiest way to have issues with EFCC is to be a Finance Commissioner. To the glory of God, I served there and I left in December 2016. EFCC has never invited me and they will never invite me,” he said.
Okon said he was moved to the Ministry of Housing & Urban Renewal, and later, the Ministry of Special Duties, where the 21-floor Dakkada tower and Governor’s lodge in Lagos were delivered.
He said the Ministry also corrected the anomaly at the airport, among other achievements.
“From that Ministry, I was moved to Special Duties and Aviation Development, my responsibility was to ensure that we had Ibom Air flying and I am happy today to the glory of God, Ibom Air is flying and within a very short period of time, it has become the airline of first choice for travellers in Nigeria.
“From that Ministry, I was moved to the Ministry of Economic Development & Ibom Deep seaport.
“The key deliverable there was to ensure that we obtain the approval for the development of Ibom deep seaport, an approval that eluded us for over 20 years as a State and by God’s grace on 16th December 2020, we obtained that approval and I want to thank Governor Udom Emmanuel, the Chairperson of the Technical Committee on Ibom deep seaport, Mrs Mfon Usoro, for their efforts and all the things they did to ensure that we obtained that approval,” he said.
He said Akwa Ibom needs an experienced person to improve the standard of living of the people while promising to build on the successes of the past administrations in the state.
“To be successful in any vocation, you need to undergo a lot of qualification and proficiency training.
“At 34 years, Akwa Ibom State cannot afford to be an experimental field where people come to learn leadership in public service. We need someone who has been around and understudied the various sectors of the State’s economy, and also understands the challenges that our people are facing so that from day one, he will hit the ground running in embarking on those policies and programmes that will lead to an improvement in the standard of living of our people,” he said.
He also said that he was not shocked by the decision of Governor Udom Emmanuel to anoint a candidate for the 2023 governorship election.
“I was not shocked. You can observe that since the Governor made the announcement, you have not heard me make any comment.
“I went about my business and going to work every day and delivering on all the assignments that I was given. At the appropriate time I had to leave.
“The reason for leaving was very clear, which is to contest for the governorship in 2023,” he said.
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