Senator Albert speaks on alleged refusal to declare asset

Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District and
Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas Resources, Bassey Albert Akpan, has
described as a ploy to distract him, allegations by the Special
Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, that he
refused to declare his assets.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Thursday, he explained that the panel
had approached the Federal High Court before on the same matter and
lost.

While describing the fresh suit against him by the panel headed by
Barrister Okoi-Okono Obla as malicious, he added that the fresh
allegation was a face-saving measure as a result of the libel suit he
instituted against the panel which was tilting in his favour at the
Federal High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

Albert said, the move was an exercise in futility, noting that those
properties were being declared every four years.

"To set the record straight, the same panel had initially filed an
application ex-parte with suit no. /FHC/ABJ/CS/378/18 to forfeit my
properties and abandoned the suit. "

"My lawyers filed a counter affidavit deposit to a true state of facts
that the properties sought to be forfeited were duly declared in 2015.

It will be recalled that the lawmaker got a return ticket to contest
for Senate in 2019 general election on the platform of the Peoples
Democratic Party in the just concluded primaries.