Governor Akpabio Defends His Wedding Gift To 2face:"I Did It For Annie"

Governor of Akwa Ibom, Dr. Godswill Akpabio has defended his controversial wedding gifts to Tuface Idibia and his wife, saying the gifts were "only a gesture of love and goodwill" to commend the wife for standing by her husband from his days of humble beginnings.

The governor however denied the speculated amount of gifts stating that only members of Mrs Idibia's family will be sponsored to the couples wedding in Dubai and not members of the government.
The governor, who hosted a lavish traditional engagement ceremony for the celebrity couple in Eket, was reported to have declared a gift of two brand new Toyota Prado SUVs for the couple and also vowed to sponsor 29 people to their forthcoming nuptial in Dubai.
The state's Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umana, on Thursday, via a phone conversation that the state governor decided to "assist Annie Idibia so that her family members and close friends who are citizens of Akwa Ibom, who cannot afford the trip will be with her on her wedding day."
"I wonder why they (mischief makers) like taking on Governor Akpabio. Is it because he is a nice man" Mr Umana asked.

A statement by the Commissioner on Wednesday stated that the Governor only approved a car, and not two, for the couple.
He also said he only promised to sponsor 20, and not 29, wedding guests to Dubai for the couple's white wedding.
The statement explained that state government is "only sponsoring the travel expenses of twenty of her family members at an estimated cost of roughly Three Million Naira (N3,000,000.00) only."
The statement reads as follows: "following spurious and false speculations in the social media concerning the wedding gift by Governor Godswill Akpabio to Mrs. Annie Innocent Idibia, née Macaulay, I wish to state as follows:
"That the Governor of Akwa Ibom State Chief Godswill Akpabio, donated ONE Prado jeep to Mrs. Annie Innocent Idibia, nee Macaulay a daughter of Akwa Ibom State and renowned artist during her traditional marriage at Eket."
"That the State Governor as a token of support for the couple promised to fund the traveling expenses (economy return tickets) for ONLY TWENTY relatives of Mrs. Annie Idibia Macaulay to Dubai, where the couple have chosen to wed."