The Akwa Ibom State Government on Monday condemned the recent travel advisory issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom on 21 states in Nigeria.
DAILY POST had reported that a statement on the UK government’s website said all travels to Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River States and 20km of the border with Niger in Zamfara State should be cancelled.
But reacting in a statement he signed, the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom Government, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, and addressed to the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, H.E. Catriona Laing, maintained that Akwa Ibom is one of the most peaceful, safe and secure places in the country.
Ekuwem said this was incontrovertible, unvarnished and can be attested to by prominent and critical stakeholders in the nation’s security architecture and top business echelons and traditional rulers.
According to him, the US Ambassador, Stuart Symington had visited the State on two occasions within the last one and a half years.
The statement added that, “No Ambassador would visit a State that is considered unsafe.
“The recently concluded Presidential/National Assembly, Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections, were adjudged by both Local and Foreign Observers to be peaceful, credible and free.
“Also, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the elections in Akwa Ibom State, Ibrahim Kaoje, had in his report to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of the Department of Operations said the elections in the State were conducted under a free, credible and most peaceful atmosphere.
“Even the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarham, and the Commander of the Joint Task Force in the Niger-Delta region, Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman, had recently commended the peaceful nature of the State.”
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