With approval already granted by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, (AKHA) for him to proceed on vacation, the State Governor, His Excellency Chief Godswill Akpabio has proceeded on annual leave, having handed over to his Deputy, Obong Nsima Ekere, to pilot affairs of the state for the one month that he would be away from the hustle and bustle of governance.

Governor Akpabio had informed the House of his intention to embark on annual leave and requested that his Deputy should act on his behalf as stipulated by the constitution.

Governor Akpabio is satisfying the constitutional provision, which section 145 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria makes mandatory for either the president or state governor to transmit a letter to either the leadership of the National Assembly or the State House of Assembly for them to give legislative backing for either the vice-president or deputy-governor to act while their principal is on leave. The constitutional provision also provides sanctions if a state governor fails to transmit such a letter to the state House of Assembly in 14 days of his absence to enable the deputy-governor take over the administration of the state.

Governor Akpabio’s letter to House of Assembly reads in part: “I write to communicate to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly my intention to embark on annual leave of one month and my desire to have Obong Nsima Ekere, my Deputy to act on my behalf”, Governor Akpabio said he needed to rest after months of political campaign and electioneering.

One of Obong Ekere’s first assignment as acting governor was receiving members of The Presidential Fact-Finding Committee on Pre- and Post-Election Violence in Akwa Ibom State and some other states in the country.
Receiving members of the committee at Government House, Uyo, the acting governor pledged the cooperation and support of the state government to make the job of the committee easier.

He spoke as members of the Presidential Committee led by Justice Uwaifo began a two-day sitting in the state to obtain memoranda from members of the public on the political violence that rocked the state on March 22, this year.

The acting governor pledged to give the committee all necessary support for them to unravel the truth behind the pre-election violence in the state and urged the committee to do its work without any fear or favour, stressing that the outcome of the report will go a long way in solving future elections violence.