The Governor of Akwa Ibom, Umo Eno, has advised residents of the state to disregard an advert that his administration will be sharing ₦25,000 as Christmas gift.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ekerete Udoh, said the social media advert was the work of scammers.
In a statement on Saturday, Udoh advised residents of the state against visiting the link. He stressed that Governor Udoh‘s grant to support the citizens’ businesses ended on 19th December.
It read, “Our attention has been drawn to a fake link where members of the public were asked to answer some questions, and at the end, they will receive 25 thousand Naira Christmas package purportedly as a Christmas grant from His Excellency, Governor Umo Eno, PhD, of Akwa Ibom State.
“We wish to state emphatically that this is the handiwork of scammers, and the link is, therefore, false and made with expressed intent to hoodwink unsuspecting members of the public.
“We wish to state categorically that the grant Governor Eno gave was the first tranche of the Arise Business Support Grant of 50 thousand Naira each, to 15 thousand youths currently unemployed, for October, November, and December 2024. This was in fulfillment of the promise he made during the Youth Appreciation Rally that took place last September.
“The event, which took place on Thursday, December 19, 2024, was widely covered by the media.
“There is, therefore, no such grant as the alleged “Governor Umo Eno 25 thousand Naira Christmas Cash Grant.
“Members of the public are hereby advised to ignore this scam as the government has no role in it.”
The statement further stated that the site had been reported to security agencies who are already on the trail of the perpetrators of this scam.