As the campaigns for the 2023 general elections continue, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno has raised concerns over what he described as a “high level of political mudslinging and blackmail” by the opposition parties.
Eno who did not mention the name of any politician or political party said the practice of running people down, lying and blackmailing would never build Akwa Ibom.
Speaking on Saturday at a Town Hall meeting, tagged, “Umo Eno Town Hall Series season 1,” organised by Connect Initiative”, Eno
urged politicians to rise above biases and focus on issues ahead of them.
He said, “please let us further this discussion and run away from things that debase us, we should rise above biases and look at the issues ahead of us. Fighting each other and running people down, blackmailing people, telling lies will not build Akwa Ibom of our dream.”
He listed his priorities to include job creation, stability in the prices of food items, improvement in the standard of living of the people, environmental sustainability, agricultural development, security and tourism development among others.
In the area of Agriculture, the governorship candidate said his administration would put in place the necessary machinery to revolutionalize agriculture in the state.
He said, “Global warming is seriously taking its toll in the world today, we need to put our hands together. Everywhere, we went on campaign in the local government areas, most of the challenges facing the people are erosion and these are part of our environment and we need to do a lot of work in that area”
The organiser of the event, Dr Frank Ekpeyong who spoke on behalf of Connect Initiative, said, “The town hall meeting was aimed at providing a platform to directly engage with critical stakeholders on the concerns and challenges facing the different sectors of the society and provide the opportunity for the stakeholders to converse, inquire and secure commitments from the candidate as regards his plans for Akwa Ibom State”.
Our correspondent reports that leadership of various professional bodies and associations including the Nigeria Medical Association, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Nigeria Society of Engineers, Academic Staff Unions of Universities, Nigeria Bar Association and a host of others were in attendance.
