Wetinhappen Magazine Nigeria's #1 Exclusive Information websiteOur attention has been drawn to yet another onslaught in the orchestrated and deliberate smear campaign of calumny mounted by some compromised sections of the junk media with the sole objective of blackmailing members of The Akpabio family, or anyone for that matter that is associated with the Akpabio’s.
This latest effort is on the front and back page of another new arrival on the ever increasing newspaper stands in Akwa Ibom state that goes by the name Global Post in its Vol. 2 No. 1, January 27, 2014, edition. The said cover story reads; “Prince Akpabio again! …fights over ex-lover.”
Curiously, on the back-page is another piece by one Gideon Ekere, titled, “The evil that a woman does…“, all in a lame, confused and barely coherent attempt to vilify the First Lady, Her Excellency, Mrs Ekaette Unoma Akpabio.
It needs also be observed that, the same paper devotes a full page editorial on Page 4, in a struggle to demean the recent Award as Best Governor since the creation of Akwa Ibom State conferred on the governor, H. E. Chief Dr. Godswill Obot Akpabio, CON, by the League of Newspaper Publishers in the State, to which Global Post, we understand is neither a member nor affiliated.
To every discerning mind, to devote nearly three pages in a 16 paged newspaper to cast slur and use unprintable gutter language on a particular subject, is in itself an indictment on the intent and flawed goal of the medium.
It bears repeating here that the said story on Prince Ukpong Akpabio fighting over an ex lover is false, fictitious, unfounded and riddled with bad faith.
It is even more shameful that persons who are half baked and lack good command of English language are given such prominence to write a column on back-page of a newspaper wherein they assault us with wrong grammar and scare people from encouraging readership of newspapers.
It is a shock that the jaded attempt to ridicule the First Lady was as uncoordinated, uninteresting and gibberish only fit for the thrash can.
No self respecting paper with professional hands will sanction such mediocre script, not to talk of publish it at all.
Ordinarily, we would have chosen to ignore the rubbish by Global Post, its authors and sponsors, and not dignify them with a comment, but for the fact that, the unsuspecting public may be misled and hoodwinked into entertaining their evil and concocted tales as truth.
We also put on record that, whereas the explosion of Newspaper outfits in the State may represent a positive indication that, the Akpabio-led administration has created a conducive and press-friendly environment for them to thrive, many of the nearly 100 newspapers floated within this period are driven by ulterior and mercantilist political motives, even as they are peopled by charlatans, quacks, professional blackmailers who do the bidding of their pay masters.
This is indeed a sad development which the Nigeria Union of Journalist will do well to arrest, so as to restore the vanishing integrity of their noble profession.
While we call on the public to ignore and discountenance the false reportage on Prince Ukpong Akpabio by Global Post as the said story exists only in the imagination of those who contrived it, we hereby charge Global Post to speedily tender a retraction of the story and if they be professionals, publish this rejoinder, according it as much prominence as the did with the fake incidents.
We also alert the people to the common trend that newspapers springing up tend to believe that, using the Akpabio family as a punching bag for yellow journalism will translate to higher sales and popularity for their paper.
Hence, all manner of stories and fictions emerge. The people should be wary of these hounds who claim to be journalists.
Signed Anietie Uwakmfon. Otobong Imaikop for Concerned Friends of Prince Akpabio
