Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwaibom State Friday assured Nigerians that ailing Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, who has been hospitalised in London since September 2012, will return to the country in the next two weeks.
The development came even as Akpabio promised to make public any activity of the Governors Forum, which negates the principles setting it up by the governors even as he insisted that the forum would continue to work in tandem with the Federal Government.
Speaking with airport correspondents on arrival from London, United Kingdom at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Akpabio, who was among the three other governors who visited the sick governor in his hospital bed in London recently, declared that Chime was hale and hearthy and capable of ruling the state upon his arrival.
Akpabio who insisted that Chime would return to Enugu State Government House in the next 10 days visited the sick Enugu governor in a London hospital in the company of Governors Gabriel Suswam and Dr Rotimi Amaechi of Benue and Rivers States respectively. Akpabio admonished Nigerians to always trust their representatives and warned against playing politics with people’s health.
His words: “I was a part of the delegation that visited the governor in London and I brought a message of goodwill to His Excellency, the Governor of Enugu State and like I said, we must learn to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. We should not play politics out of people’s health”.
“For me, I’m very grateful to God that Governor Chime has recovered fully and he would be assuming duties within the next 10 days. It’s not something that any Nigerian should be sad about, rather, we should be happy and we should pray that he’s returning to the country within 10 days from today and he would be in the government House in Enugu on his seat as the Governor of the State. I can confirm that because I had interactions with him and he’s in good health and he’s recovering. Once the doctors give him the go ahead, he will be in the office. You can quote me.”
Speaking on the allegation that the Governors’ Forum was gradually becoming a cartel and working against the Federal Government and the Nigerian people, Akpabio, denied such claims vowing that he would not be a party to any association of forum that would attempt to bring down President Goodluck Jonathan and his team even as he described such allegation as baseless.
He insisted that the governors’ forum should actually be a major collaborator with the Federal Government of Nigeria, maintaining that they are part and parcel of government, which should work together to uplift the living conditions of Nigerians.
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Politics