Following a directive from Governor Umo Eno to the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP) to revitalize the struggling state-owned Peacock Paint company, a group called Open Forum has urged the governor to conduct a forensic audit. The group wants to understand how the N526 million invested in the company by the previous governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, in 2015, disappeared without yielding any visible results.
Open Forum's founder, Matthew Kofi Okono (MKO), stated that further investment in Peacock Paint without a forensic audit would be a mistake. He called for accountability from all involved in the company's management, including AKICORP, and demanded that those responsible for the missing funds be held accountable and made to repay them. Okono expressed concern about the potential for further losses for the state government and its people, given the past history of the company under the previous administration. He also commented on the proposed state of emergency in the power sector, suggesting that the existing scandal within the sector should be addressed first before any emergency measures are taken