Buhari will campaign at Akwa Ibom stadium, Enang insists

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The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly, (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, on Monday insisted that Godswill Akpabio International Stadium would be used for the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress’ presidential campaign on Friday.

Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State had rejected the application for the use of the stadium, citing the Nigeria Premier football league season that would start soon and the closure of the stadium by Julius Berger, a firm handling its maintenance.

But speaking at a media briefing in Uyo, Enang said the party would use diplomacy to ensure that Buhari use the stadium for campaign.

He, however, said that if diplomacy failed it would have no option but to still go ahead to use the stadium.

Enang said, “The Akwa Ibom State Government had stated that it was preserving the field for the football match coming up next year, and that the Godswill Akpabio Stadium will not be used for the campaign.

“We will continue to use diplomacy but if diplomacy fails, we will still use the stadium. It is public facility, a collective heritage of the Akwa Ibom people, Buhari is the President of Nigeria and nobody can restrain him from using any facility anywhere in the country. The President has been fair, kind and generous to Akwa Ibom people.”

Acknowledging that Udom had some measure of immunity, Enang said such immunity should stop where the right of the people started and where the collective sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was involved.