2015 Fear Grips Akwa Ibom Guber Aspirants: As PDP National Chairman Commends Akpabio over Jonathan’s Endorsement

…Udom’s chances get brighter  

With few weeks to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Primaries, strong indications have emerged that most of the governorship aspirants in Akwa Ibom State have put a hold to campaign spending ahead of the primaries. This is not unconnected with recent political developments in the party at the National level which has snowballed into the litany of endorsements of Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

The latest came at the 66^th PDP National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja where President Jonathan was given the thumps up to run as the sole candidate of the party at the Presidential elections. The NEC meeting of the PDP essentially turned out to be a ratification of earlier meetings, as all the organs of the party starting from the National Caucus, Board of Trustees (BoT) to the PDP Governors Forum had all adopted Jonathan as their candidate.  

The aim of the endorsements especially by the PDP Governors is perhaps to make the presidential convention on December 6 a mere formality and extend same to the November 29 convention in the states.

The decision by all the governors of the Peoples Democratic Party to support the second term aspiration of President Jonathan, it is reasoned, was not done until the Governors were able to get some commitments from the President. It was gathered that the governors discussed openly the merits and demerits of supporting or not supporting the President for the 2015 race.

 Our close source revealed that Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa had extracted a few promises, some being the refund of the sum of over 15 billion expended to build the Dutse International Airport, a project the Federal Government promised to undertake but failed.

Similarly, the source said the Presidency also agreed to undertake the immediate construction of the Auyo Irrigation Project, which was started by the Shagari Administration but abandoned. Other Governors were said to have extracted words of commitment from the President.

All the governors were said to have been assured that they would not be harassed by the agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission after leaving office because of their support.

The plan to rock the boat in the states was also responsible for the Party allowing the Acting Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, to be cleared before winning the governorship ticket in his state by the Party.

 A close source further revealed  that Governor Akpabio as Chairman of the Forum had tabled his succession plan as his first condition and a senatorial ticket for his contributions to the stability of the party especially when the governors left for the All Progressives Congress (APC). The President, it is learnt, accepted the offers based on Governor Akpabio’s  huge contributions to the party and his loyalty.

Governors Gabriel Suswan of Benue State, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, Sulivan Chime of Enugu State and Babangida Aliyu of Niger State tabled their senatorial aspirations as top of their conditions for the endorsement of President Jonathan.

With the consensus spirit hovering around the party, aspirants in Akwa Ibom State are threading with caution as the body language of the Presidency tilts towards assisting the candidature of Akpabio’s  favourite at the primaries.

Across the state, various aspirants have halted mobilization of supporters. Our intelligence gathering reveals that the main contenders mostly from Uyo Senatorial District are considering dropping their ambitions and have stopped spending.

Discussions are at advanced level with the Obong Victor Attah group to adopt a candidate from Eket Senatorial District, most preferably, Mr Benjamin Okoko. The Ex-Governor who is believed to have  relocated to the state for the purpose of the 2015 elections is appealing to the big guns of Uyo Senatorial District to down their tools and teem up behind a candidate from Eket Senatorial District. As it stands, the jostling for the Governorship ticket in other parties has intensified especially in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party.

Our Correspondent spoke with Udeme Ekefre, a staunch PDP stalwart in Uyo on the reaction of the guber aspirants to the endorsement of President Jonathan; he noted that the mood is that of caution going by the interactions he has made. He added that it appears that the main contenders are no longer making huge financial commitments to their causes. “The primaries are very close but there is very little action as we expected. Look as if everybody is scared of a “carry go agenda”. The number of meetings has drastically reduced. Everything is on newspapers now.  Nothing much on ground. I don’t know what is going on. But it is as if the main guys are afraid of losing out. We are waiting to see what happens”.

Meanwhile, many groups and bodies have endorsed Akpabio’s preferred candidate, Udom Emmanuel. The barrage of endorsements and support for the present secretary to the State Government, Mr Udom Gabriel Emmanuel has further swollen with more youths in the state throwing weight behind the SSG and urging him to accept their request to contest in the forth coming governorship elections in the state.

The last two major endorsements came from apex socio-cultural groups in the state, Ati Annang and Afigh Iwaad Ekid. Following closely on the heels of their elders, the Ati Annang on Tuesday September 2, 2014 declared in unequivocal terms that their support have been preserved in a cooler for none other than Mr Udom Emmanuel and assured him that they were confident that God was ready to use him to consolidate on the achievements recorded by Governor Godswill Akpabio in the state. In a symbolic voice vote, Ati Annang had unanimously recorded a resounding voice vote in support of Mr Udom Emmanuel, maintaining that “what is endorsed on earth is ratified in heaven”.

In the same vein, the Afigh Iwaad Ekid said that the youths from Udom’s Federal Constituency have seen that from the array of qualified persons that are in Eket Senatorial District, Mr Udom Emmanuel possesses the best credentials and potentials that can be harnessed to sustain the transformation of the state.

Frontline socio cultural groups in the state have praised the sterling qualities of the ex -Zenith bank Executive Director. At the Mboho Akparawa  Ibibio consultation, the international President  Obong Monday Etok Akpan, said that considering the track record of Udom Emmanuel, if he were to be the INEC Chairman, that he would have declared him the governor of Akwa Ibom State .

He said as a social-political group with a known standard of political decision, they will meet and announce whom the people should vote for.

‘’We have never recommended anyone to the people of the state and such candidate loses, Udom, when we shall announce you, the people will vote for you and you will be the next governor.

‘You are truthful, humble and above all your achievements stood out among the rest, this is what dignifies your aspiration’’.