LEAKED: SUPPORT GROUP HEADS WRITES UMOENO

 

- Demands fulfillment of promises he made to them prior to 2023 elections

- Decries exclusion from ARISE AGENDA & Government Activities 

The Umoeno Support Group Heads  started gathering under the umbrella of GENUINE GROUP HEADS FORUM (GGHF) for the first time, in a private residence of one of them at Ikot Oku Ikono,on 22nd June and numbered about 86,they  promised to, as a matter of fact and urgency, extend their grievances in writing to Amb. Assam Assam, Emmanuel Enoidem (SAN), Prince Godwin Ntukude, Rt. Hon.  Mike Enyong, Rt.Hon.Eld. Aniekan Akpan and Sen. Godswil Akpabio in the coming weeks.

    The GGHF lamented exclusion of Group Heads and their members in the scheme of things.

 Recalling that prior to the 2023 elections, the Governor,whom they referred to as their "PRINCIPAL" promised to turn things around for support groups from the usual USED AND DUMP business.

 He promised to meet with them twice every year if they could mobilize members of their various groups to campaign and vote for him to win. Also, he the PRINCIPAL promised to facilitate support groups into cooperative societies inorder to attract government investments to their members as well as appointments to some Group Heads if elected.

These promises inspired the group heads to wholeheartedly mobilize their members, register them online using data & devices and making huge expenses to procure campaign materials and spread the Governor's manifestos to the public, thereby enhancing his unwavering support during the polls and his smooth movement into the Hill Top Mansion.

  According to GGHF, their activities included, but not limited to , organizing rallies in areas such as markets, churches, schools, streets etc. urging members of the public to vote for their PRINCIPAL. These, they did, with all amount of seriousness and zealousness of committed time and resources.

  One of the Group Heads who pleaded anonymity lamented how the opposition supporters, that time, threw in their goods ( Kanda and Ice cream) bowls to their crowded members who were rallying at Urua Obo (Obo market) in Etim Ekpo to garner support for the election of the Governor. In his words " I paid up to 67 thousand naira that day as damages to those hawkers in the market. Today, I have nothing to show for it".

The GGHF lamented that they spent a lot of money and time in their quest to sell their PRINCIPAL in the political market of Akwa Ibom State since he, UMOENO was the most heavily criticized candidate for that election.

Having done that and more, the Group Heads demands that the Governor stops playing games but fulfill his promises to them and their group members after more than 2 years in office.

GGHF continued that, for more than 2 years after his election, the Governor met with them once in March last year. Where the Governor told them that some of them didn't have genuine members but went to INEC SERVER to get VIN of people to upload as their group members. Meanwhile, those groups that did the bastard act are known by the Governor and their heads/sponsors are his appointees today as either Commissioners, SSAs, SAs, PAs and so on, thereby undermining the painful efforts of the genuine group heads and their members in that election.

Furthermore, GGHF observed with dismay, that the Governor intensionally refused to consult his support base before defecting to APC thereby throwing them away like a baby with the bath water. Though the GGHF is aware of someone in Government who is advising the Governor to ignore them and the same person was among those sponsors who went to INEC SERVER to get VIN in order to have hundreds of thousands of people as members in his group.

On the issue of appointment of Senior Special Assistant on Support Groups, GGHF advice the pastor to try and organize a familiarity meeting with Group Heads since his appointment in March last year. Also GGHF states that the SSA betrayed them and goes after his pocket alone as he defected without carrying them along, describing his actions as derogatory and timid in group business. He, the SSA gets to know that he should establish a formidable platform where issues affecting Group Heads could be discussed and any important information should emanate from there ( may be a WhatsApp platform ) for all the Group Heads as they ( GGHF) planned to meet largely soon.