President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has appealed to Nigerians to take ownership of government facilities in their communities and ensure they are well protected from vandalism.
Speaking during the commissioning of projects in Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Akpabio emphasized the collective responsibility of safeguarding public infrastructure for sustainable development.
“My duty as your representative in the Senate is to ensure that I bring projects that you ask for in the overall good of the people,” Akpabio said. “You as the beneficiaries of these projects owe government a duty to protect the facilities so that they won’t be vandalised or destroyed by enemies of progress. In other words, I want communities to own these projects and by so doing, government at all levels would be encouraged to do more.”
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, Akpabio warned against the mentality of neglecting public property.
“If you say after all it is government property let us vandalise them, are we all not government? That means you are also destroying your property and by so doing, you have only succeeded in discouraging government from doing more for your community,” he stated.
Reassuring his constituents of the Bola Tinubu-led administration’s commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians, Akpabio said:
“This current administration of President Bola Tinubu is one with a human face that is determined to make things easier for the people, especially for the common people. The President recently approved that 1,000 Nigerians from every ward all over the country should be financially empowered to boost their economic powers at the local level.”
Earlier, community leader and member of the National Communication Commission (NCC), Chris Okorie, pledged the community’s support for President Tinubu, Senator Akpabio, and Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno in their respective roles.
Some of the projects commissioned include an eight-classroom block and an ICT Centre at St Augustine Secondary School in Ika, a 12-classroom block at Community Secondary School, and an ultra-modern market in Uruk-Ata 2, Etim Ekpo Local Government Area.
