December 05, (THEWILL) – Kiosks verification and validation exercise, occasioned by illegal resell of kiosks at the Christmas Village, the Akwa Ibom State Government has confirmed the arrest of some vendors suspected to be involved in the dastardly act.
The vendors arrested by security operatives include those who took part in some form of vices during online registration such as; indulging in multiple online registrations, reselling kiosks at very high costs against Government rates, inconsistency in personal information data during verification exercises and mismatch in names of vendors, among others.
The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Sir Charles Udoh, confirmed this at Unity Park, Uyo, while addressing some vendors with discrepancies on their registration dashboard during the verification process.
Udoh said that as a result of the arrest, kiosks have been confiscated from the culprits and will be given out to deserving Vendors who they fraudulently deprived of the kind gesture of the government, adding that this should serve as a deterrent to others.
He urged all those who were made to buy kiosks at exorbitant cost, above the approved One Hundred Thousand Naira per kiosk or Thirty Thousand Naira per open space to report to officials of the Ministry or the planning Committee in order that they will be handed over to security operatives.
The Tourism Commissioner used the occasion to express appreciation to the State Governor for the magnanimous gesture for the people of the State and invited all to the Christmas Unplugged Season 2.0 which holds a lot in stock for everybody.
Christmas Unplugged 02 was on December 1, 2024, declared open by the State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno PhD, for each LGA in the state to take their turns in showcasing their rich cultural heritage.
The event will continue daily at the Unity Park, Udo Udoma Avenue, till the end of December 2024.
