Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has sacked two commissioners loyal to Senator Godswill Akpabio ahead of the latter’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Commissioners for Labour, Productivity and Manpower Development, Ibanga Akpabio; and Culture and Tourism, Victor Antai, were sacked with immediate effect for what was called “act of disloyalty”.
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Charles Udoh, said the two commissioners had to be removed from the State Executive Council for disloyalty to the governor.
Ibanga, who is a younger brother of the senator was sacked alongside Antai for receiving Akpabio, a former governor of the state and Emmanuel’s predecessor, at the Ibom International Airport on Tuesday.
Akpabio flew into the state preparatory to his plan to defect from the PDP.
Udoh said the commissioners had to be removed from the state executive council following their “reluctance to comply with good governance processes.’’
“With the development, they have been mandated to handover to the permanent secretary in their respective ministries before close of work on Wednesday August 8,” he said.
The commissioner stressed that the duo showed complete disloyalty to Emmanuel and therefore could not continue to remain in the state executive.
