False allegation: Umo Eno denies deducting tithes from staff’s salaries
The Chairman, Royalty Hotels, Eket, Pastor Umo Eno has denied the speculations in a section of the media that he normally deducts tithes from salaries of workers in his employ.
Pastor Umo Eno who is a frontline governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State and Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources made the refutal recently while consulting some stakeholders in the state on his ambition.
Umo Eno, who said the solution to youth unemployment is not by throwing money on the ground for them to fight among themselves, added that such cannot sustain them.
“I’ve been dashing youths money but I give them something to sustain them. I give them jobs. I pay them salary and I develop them to be self- reliant.
“Though some people blackmailed me that I deduct tithes from my staff’s salaries, I can challenge anyone working for me to come out and testify on how I deduct tithes from their salaries. I’ve their pay slips with me, there is no such deduction from any staff’s salary. We only deduct tax and not tithe. What tithe?” he explained.
Dismissing the insinuations as falsehood and unfounded the Commissioner described it as the handiwork of his political opponents who are bent on blackmailing him because of elections instead of talking about what they have done for the state in their capacity.
Umo Eno, who gave account of his stewardship as a private businessman, said he has employed over five thousand (5,000) indigenes of Akwa Ibom and non-indigenes in his Royalty Conglomerate and pay them salaries every month.
The governorship hopeful maintained that as a private capacity he has done enough in the areas of human capital investment and also contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of the state and challenged his opponents to come out and tell the people what they have done for them especially the youths.
The General Overseer of All Nations for Christ Church, Eket averred that if he could achieve all that as a private business individual he will do more to ensure that more Akwa Ibom youths are gainfully employed and also become employers of labour through small and medium scale enterprises when he emerges as the Governor of the state.
He promised to encourage agro-business and develop the tourism sector for the youths to explore.
Pastor Umo Eno who is Governor Udom Emmanuel’s preferred successor said he returned from Lagos to invest in Akwa Ibom since 1995 and since then all his investments are in Akwa Ibom State.
While recalling how he started his hospitality business with a 5-room hotel which has since grew into a conglomerate with branches in different parts of the country, Pastor Umo Eno noted that he decided to come and invest in Akwa Ibom while others were going to Lagos and Abuja because of the love he has for the state.
He stressed that if given opportunity as governor he will give priority to human empowerment, particularly youths development by organizing skill acquisition programmes for them to train them on how to “start small business and grow big”.
“If I can succeed by investing in Akwa Ibom land any other person can equally succeed,” he maintained.
Recall that Pastor Umo Eno while consulting youths of Uyo and Eket Senatorial Districts recently told them that If given opportunity to be governor of the state he will raise 5 millionaires in each of the 31 LGAs by engaging them in profitable ventures.
“I promise that in my first one year of being in office, we will raise 5 millionaires in each of our local government areas, not by giving them money but by teaching them how to make their money,” Pastor Umo Eno assured.
The business mogul lamented the alarming rates of youths who are roaming the streets doing nothing and commended Governor Udom Emmanuel for his administration’s numerous interventions to engage the youths and promised to continue from where Governor Udom will stop in 2023 to ensure the youths and engaged.
“Our youths deserves meaningful live not by begging for peanuts but by acquiring and applying their skills in useful ventures”
“It is time for our youths to build their own houses. It is time for our youths to walk into car stand and buy car for themselves from their sweat not the one politicians dash them with no sustainable means of income to help them maintain the vehicle and also take care of themselves,” he added.
