Akwa Ibom State Government has confirmed the arrest of some vendors at the Christmas Village in Uyo, following a kiosks verification and validation exercise towards the upcoming Christmas Festival, occasioned by the displeasure of Governor Umo Eno over allegations of illegal resale of kiosks.

The vendors arrested by security operatives included those involved in various vices during online registration, such as engaging in multiple registrations, reselling kiosks at very high costs against the government-approved rate, and inconsistencies in personal information data, among others.

The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Sir Charles Udoh, made this confirmation at the Christmas Park at Unity Park, Uyo, while addressing some vendors with discrepancies on their registration dashboard during the verification process.

Udoh stated that as a result of the arrests, kiosks have been confiscated from the culprits and will be given to deserving vendors who were fraudulently deprived of the government’s kind gesture. He added that this action would serve as a deterrent to others.

He urged all those who were compelled to buy kiosks at exorbitant costs above the approved N100,000 per kiosk or N30,000 per open space to report to officials of the ministry or the planning committee.

The tourism commissioner expressed appreciation to the state governor for his magnanimous gesture. #MemoriesNews