By Jimmy Jackson
The Special Adviser to the Cross River State Governor on General Duties, Barr. Ekpenyong Akiba has described the latest rant by MC Okirika as baseless, one who, true to his character, has once again displayed his trademark in recklessness in speech and thought.
Barr. Akiba in a statement said “his latest outburst, he shamelessly attacked Her Excellency, Bishop Mrs. Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, questioning her bishopric consecration simply because she chose to empower the most vulnerable women of our state, the sweepers who risk their health daily to keep our communities clean.
“This was not just an attack on the First Lady, it was an insult to hundreds of hardworking women who finally felt remembered after years of neglect.
“For the record, Her Excellency owed nobody a dime. Those arrears were debts irresponsibly abandoned by the past administration. Out of her compassion, she cleared 11 months of arrears, not at the old ₦3,000 rate, but at an increased ₦5,000 per month, personally raised. She went further to provide food items,wrappers, POS machines with start-up funds as empowerment materials to ensure these women had sustainable livelihood support. That is leadership in action. That is compassion. That is the People First spirit at work.
“But MC Okirika, a man who has wasted his life in drugs, idleness, and destructive propaganda, thinks himself fit to criticize. What moral authority does a man drowning in addiction and irrelevance have to question a Bishop consecrated both by God and men of faith? It is the height of irony that someone who cannot govern himself presumes to question a woman who is touching lives.
“Unfortunately, MC Okirika, who represents his name in the actual meaning, is still devastated by the crushing defeat of his party, the PDP, and his candidate, who could not secure Peregrino House. His endless bitterness stems from the fact that he was denied any opportunity for appointment or relevance. Instead of licking his wounds in silence, he has resorted to ranting like a broken record, attacking those working tirelessly for the people of Cross River State.
“And here lies the tragedy of his blindness, he resides in Ikom, a community where this administration has delivered tangible projects. The ongoing Nde Road rehabilitation, the revamp of the General Hospital, and other infrastructural works stand as testimony to good governance.
“In Yakurr, where he throws his baseless tantrums, projects are equally ongoing. Roads, social services, and grassroots development that any sober minded person can see. If MC Okirika was not perpetually lost in the fog of cheap substances, perhaps he would have opened his eyes long enough to witness these visible achievements.
“The contrast is glaring. While His Excellency, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, builds and restores, while Her Excellency, Bishop Mrs. Eyoanwan Otu, uplifts and empowers, MC Okirika chooses the path of decay, trying unsuccessfully to mock progress.
“Cross Riverians are not deceived. They see through the smoke of his drug-induced ramblings. They know who is building and who is destroying. They know Her Excellency as a mother, a servant, and a leader whose benevolence speaks louder than any critic’s bitterness.
“As far as I am concerned, MC Okirika’s rantings deserve no serious attention. His life is already a monument to failure. The people of Cross River know the truth, the sweepers know the truth, and history will record the difference between a First Lady who built lives and a loudmouth who destroyed his own.” The statement added
