A university don, Professor Herbert Batta, has urged the Akwa Ibom State Government to ignore what he described as trivial and sensational issues and instead focus on fixing critical development challenges such as infrastructure decay, unemployment and food insecurity.

Batta made the call while reacting to widespread circulation of a fake social media report alleging the sponsorship of an anti-adultery bill that would jail women involved with married men for 10 years and impose a N2 million fine on adulterous men.

He said the attention given to the circulating report, including official rebuttals from government quarters, exposed a growing tendency to be distracted from the core responsibilities of governance.

According to him, a government genuinely committed to development would be preoccupied with completing abandoned rural and urban roads, schools, health facilities, water schemes, ecological and electricity projects scattered across the state.

“A government that is serious about human development should be completing abandoned roads, schools, health facilities, water and electricity projects across the state, not getting distracted by idle controversies,” Batta said.

The professor who also identified food insecurity as a pressing concern, called on the state to establish mechanised farms in all local government areas to boost food production, generate raw materials for industries and support export.

“Akwa Ibom must confront food insecurity by establishing mechanised farms in every local government to produce food, cash crops and raw materials for industries and export,” he stated.

On unemployment, Batta urged the government to prioritise job creation through deliberate partnerships with investors to establish industries across the LGAs, rather than encouraging a dependency culture among youths, warning that distractions often thrive where accountability is weak.