Governor Umo Eno has explained the reasons behind the removal of Engr. Meyen Etukudoh, the former Managing Director of Ibom Power Company.
The decision, made a month ago, had sparked public debate, but the governor addressed the issue on Tuesday during the second day of the Inter-Ministerial Briefings and End-of-Year Review.
Governor Eno stated that the removal was necessary to ensure progress and discipline within the state’s power sector. The controversy began when Etukudoh issued a press statement blaming a four-day power outage on Acugas, the state’s gas supplier, citing unpaid debts by the government.
This statement allegedly embarrassed the state and led to his immediate dismissal by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah, without an official explanation.
The governor criticized the former MD for bypassing proper protocols, saying, “There are things I don’t want to say here because I don’t want to be misquoted but I can tell you as a sitting governor for 18 months, the only time I got a brief from Ibom power was when the Honourable Commissioner for power took over the place (Ibom Power). Such a critical asset?
“Even though I visited the place, nobody made any effort to reach out to me.
“So when we took decisions we took and people complained, in any case it is a government appointed job and you can’t be there forever, there are other people that will come and go.
“I have a tenured job and the day my tenure ends, I’m gone. The pressure that was mounted was not necessary and as public servants, we all know that you can’t issue a press statement without clearance from the right authority.
“Sometimes people abuse simplicity. They believe that the governor is very simple, he can sit on the floor and play with everybody then we take advantage of that and cross the line.
“But as I said, the issue is that we are going to set up a power infrastructure committee to work with the honourable commissioner and other power stakeholders to hold a power summit and tell us the way forward and this must happen between January and March, it is an emergency.
“We are owing the gas company N40 billion, that is 7.9 million dollars you are owing them and you come out to make a press statement that they have cut off power.
“Assuming we have youths that are irrational, that company would have been burnt down by now.
“You are owning somebody and still shouting, the right thing to do would have been to beg.
“The greatest pain of this was an MD going on leave and handing over everything to a contractor and even putting it in writing for him to be in charge of the plant.
“I don’t know where that is done. It’s just like handing over your vehicle to a mechanic and saying ‘if it has a problem let me know’, definitely that vehicle must develop a problem because the mechanic must eat.”
