Environment and Solid Minerals Commissioner Charles Udoh has refuted a news publication quoted as saying Governor Udom Emmanuel must account for his deducted wages.
The former Information Commissioner, in a statement he issued on Sunday titled ‘Re:Udom must account for our deducted wages’, described the post as false, malicious and “blackmail taken too far”.
The statement read in part: “I have been brought to my attention by the above-mentioned post attributed to me, which is circulating on social media. I want to state the following:
“That said statements are false, malicious and merely a figment of the imagination of the writer and his patron. The incident never happened.
“Such publication is blackmail taken too far aimed at dissuading me from fulfilling my official duties and testing my relationship with my boss, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.
“I wish to advise the purveyors of this malicious news to redirect their negative energy to save their boss and paymaster from the chains of financial crime investigators.
“It is disgusting that a would-be governor who turned the funeral ceremonies of his brothers and close associates into a political rally to criticize his opponents and the incumbent governor, could sanction such malicious and slanderous posts by his advisers.
“The good news is that the Akwa Ibomites are wiser and never again will a blackmailer and his minions be allowed access to the keys to Government House.
“I have instructed my lawyers to explore all legal means to prosecute the assholes behind the defamatory post, while also informing security agencies to investigate this failed attempt at reputational damage.
“My loyalty and fidelity to the completion schedule and succession plan of my boss, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, remains intact.”