Akpabio’s aide apologises for ‘verbal slip’ over Akwa Ibom First Lady’s death

An aide to the Senate President Godswill Akpabio has apologised for “congratulating” Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State over the passing of the governor’s wife.

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The Akwa Ibom First Lady, Patience, died of an undisclosed illness on 26 September and was buried on 29 November at their family compound in Ikot Ekpene Udo, Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of the state.

“Let me congratulate His Excellency, the Governor of the State, over the demise of his dear lovely wife,” Uduak Udo, a special assistant on protocol to Mr Akpabio, said before the camera during a public function in Uyo recently.

The video clip containing Mr Udo’s remark has gone viral on Facebook and WhatsApp. The Arise News aired the “embarrassing” clip. Many people, especially within Akwa Ibom, have used social media to ridicule the Senate president’s aide over the faux pas.

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Apology

Mr Udo, on Wednesday, publicly apologised over the incident. He said he wanted to congratulate Governor Eno for giving the late first lady a “successful and befitting” burial.

“This was a clear case of a verbal slip,” he said in a statement on Facebook. “This occurs when there is a disconnect between the thoughts in your mind and your utterance.”

He offered his apology to the governor and others.

“I apologise to Governor Umo Eno over this inadvertent error. I offer my sincere apologies to my principal, the President of the Senate, whose office has been erroneously linked to this mistake.

“To my family and friends, who may also have been embarrassed by this faux pas, I call for their understanding. It has been a very troubling time for me, and pray that God will give me the grace to navigate out of this painful labyrinth.”

A political supporter of Mr Akpabio, Zion Umo, apparently saddened by the trending video, has alleged that some political allies of the Senate president were using the clip to attack Mr Udo because of politics.

READ ALSO: ‘Mum was secret Santa Claus,’ son eulogises late Akwa Ibom First Lady

“It’s funny that supporters of Patrick Umoh are seriously trending this video via WhatsApp groups and Facebook, which I am sensing that they might be seeing Uduak Udoudo as a threat since the rumours have it that Uduak is scheming his way to take over from Patrick Umoh come 2027, while Patrick is plotting to go against the zoning format in Ikot Ekpene Federal Constituency by going for a second term against the will of the people,” Mr Umo wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

Patrick, a member of the All Progressives Congress, represents Ikot Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot Akara Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.