The Ebonyi State Government has acknowledged that employees on the Chuba Okadigbo International Airport maintain prayers earlier than work however denied that the power has been transformed right into a worship centre.
The state Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Ikeuwa Omebeh, initially dismissed a viral video displaying a church service on the airport as AI-generated. He later acknowledged that employees had prayed there, insisting {that a} prayer service was completely different from a church service.
“It is not true, in all ramifications,” Mr Omebeh mentioned.
“It has never been a worship centre, and we don’t intend to use it as a worship centre.”
He spoke in an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, responding to criticism of Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration and making a case for the governor’s re-election.
Video dismissed
Mr Omebeh initially insisted that the viral video was AI-generated. He cited former President Goodluck Jonathan’s use of the airport about three weeks earlier whereas travelling to a burial in Cross River State as proof that the power was operational.
“I am sure that it is AI-generated; this is the same airport former President Goodluck Jonathan used about three weeks ago to a local government in Calabar,” he mentioned.
When pressed to establish the AI software used to confirm the video, Mr Omebeh didn’t title one.
“I am coming from Abakaliki, and I’m on ground to tell you that those things are not correct,” he mentioned.
During the interview, the presenter drew consideration to an earlier assertion by the state Commissioner for Special Duties, Valentine Okike-Uzo. Mr Okike-Uzo had additionally dismissed the video however mentioned airport employees routinely maintain communal prayers on Thursdays earlier than work.
Mr Omebeh subsequently acknowledged that employees had prayed on the airport. He maintained that the gathering was a prayer session, not a church service organised by an exterior church.
“We welcome prayer, but not church service,” he mentioned.
‘Sponsored’ protests
Mr Omebeh alleged that some protests and opposition to the state authorities have been sponsored however didn’t establish these accountable regardless of repeated questions.
“We do not have any opposition,” he mentioned, earlier than itemizing what he described because the governor’s achievements.
Council chairmen
Asked whether or not a governor might unilaterally take away elected native authorities chairmen who failed to ship votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Omebeh didn’t immediately handle the query.
Instead, he mentioned Mr Nwifuru didn’t intervene with native authorities funds and was urging council chairmen to guarantee their constituents benefited from democracy and earned their belief by efficiency.
“Every leader is rated by his performance,” he mentioned. “Make sure that you perform.”
Charles Otu, spokesperson for the Ebonyi Civil Society Coalition Group, had alleged on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Thursday, 3 September, {that a} church had taken over the airport for midweek and Sunday providers.
He additionally claimed that the one flights touchdown on the airport have been non-public charters carrying the governor and his spouse at public expense.
The airport, situated in Onueke, Ezza South Local Government Area, has been controversial for years. Former Governor David Umahi mentioned in April 2023 that the state spent N36 billion constructing the power, though an unofficial determine put the fee above N42 billion.
READ ALSO: Ebonyi govt announces date for flight resumption at Chuba Okadigbo Airport
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority had licensed the airport for chartered flights and personal jets solely. A video displaying church providers in its departure lounge subsequently went viral.
The controversy over native authorities chairmen adopted Mr Nwifuru’s remarks on 1 September. At the inauguration of recent council chairmen in Abakaliki, the governor mentioned, “we will remove any chairman who fails to win his local government.”
Governorship elections in most states, together with Ebonyi, are scheduled for six February 2027, underneath the revised timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
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