The All Progressives Congress, APC in Akwa Ibom state has commended the AkwaIbom state government for finally releasing the state owned Godswill International Stadium for the official flag off of President Buhari South South Campaigns.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Dr. Ita Enang who disclosed this in a press conference on Wednesday to herald the coming of the president to the state assured that the stadium will still remain in a good condition even after its use on Friday.
According to him, “It is important to emphasize here that with appreciation to Akwa Ibom State Government that we are taking over the physical possession and occupancy of Godswill Obot Akpabio International Stadium and the advance team of Mr President has also arrived the state in readiness and preparation for APC flag off on Friday.
“I will also like to emphasize that the International Stadium is for AkwaIbom people and neither for the APC, PDP nor APGA. No body irrespective of party lines would be interested in destroying anything in the Stadium, it is the greatest of the things apart from the airport that has stood AkwaIbom out in the International Community
“We are also conscious that the Stadium is FIFA rated and we will ensure that nothing happens to it. We are working with the stadium management team and the AkwaIbom state management team in respect of that.
” We were contemplating on two options about the safety of the stadium, we put our heads together and arrived at the best option. Which will make the stadium to still remain in a good condition after the rally.”
On his own, the state Chairman of APC, Mr. Ini Okopido expressed appreciation over the approval of the stadium by the state government noting that the first letter he sent requesting for the venue was turned downed by the state government citing some reasons why the stadium would not be used.
Okopido said he could not relent knowing fully well of the importance of the venue, he decided to write another letter to the state government stating the security implications of denying a president a state facility.
He added that he drew the states attention to the mayhem that took place in Rivers State sometime in 2014 when a governor denied a sitting president access to the stadium saying that the AkwaIbom state government later replied with a letter showing approval for the use of the stadium.
He however urged all Akwa Ibom people and other visitors who would be coming for the presidential campaign rally to use the stadium with every sense of responsibility and decency.
