Uyo State Constituency Election:

Wide Acceptance trails Barr Stella Udoh's consultation visit
... As She Gets Nod and Blessings of Offot Ukwa and Etoi Clan Councils 

By Augustine Akpan

It was a stellar outing for the Uyo State Constituency hopeful, Lady Barr Stellar Ezekiel Udoh penultimate weekend, when she consulted with two of the four clans of the constituency to declare her intentions to contest for the House of Assembly seat come 2015 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party as her visits was heralded with total support and rain of royal blessings by the royal fathers to guarantee her optimal success. 

  The first phase of the consultation visits which first port of calling debut at the palace of the Clan Head of Etoi, His Royal Highness, Etebom Effiong Akpan on Friday August 29th, 2014 and later proceeded to and climaxed at the palace of the Clan Head of Offot  Ukwa,  His Royal Highness Etebom Obong Sylvanus Okon (JP) the following day both in Uyo amidst unfeigned endorsement and assurance of unstinting support by royal fathers to ensure a resounding victory for the aspirant at the upcoming 2015 polls.
 

Setting the centre stage for the House of Assembly hopeful to declare her intentions to the royal fathers, the Director General of the Divine Change  2015 Campaign Organization, a group tasked with the mandate to ensure the successful ascension of Lady Barr Stella Ezekiel Udoh to the House, Hon Joseph Edem held the royal fathers spell-bound as he read the intimidating profile of the legal luminary to the house before the hopeful majestically rose to declare her intentions.
 Making her declaration to the clans visited, the legal luminary, Lady Barr Ezekiel Udoh an ebullient law doyen who graduated from the prestigious University of Uyo as the overall best student of the Faculty of Law  made her intention to contest for the seat of Uyo State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly known to the royal fathers and pleaded for their support for the actualization of her mandate even as she noted that her clan Oku and Ward 2 where she hails from was particularly  neglected and marginalized for decades in both elective and political appointment and sued for the imbalance to be corrected in the spirit of maintaining and enhancing the principle of equity, justice  and fairness.

Lady Barr. Udoh who spoke glowingly on her wealth of experience in the legal profession which she said she has put in more than 20 years of service stated that her academic exposure and exploits within and outside the country has really prepared her for the seat she is vying for and that her emergence as Member Representing Uyo State Constituency in the house would yield the desired dividends of effective representation to the people and as well change the status quo.
  She further stated that if given the mandate, her vision for the constituency was for her to chart a new and responsible leadership course that will improve the lives of the people through her four-point agenda which she said was to ensure a qualitative representation, equal distribution of the dividends of democracy across the clans, chart Economic Empowerment and Development  Initiative to better the lives of the people and attract developmental projects to the area to restore its status as the number one catchment area of the state.

Speaking  further in praise of Barr. Stella Ezekiel’s eligibility to ascend the seat of Uyo State constituency in the State Assembly, Obong  Hon. Daniel Udobio, a prominent and respected voice in the area extolled the leadership, academic and political virtues of the aspirant and rallied the support of his kinsmen towards her pursuit, divulging that if Barr Stella Ezekiel was not a credible person he would not have keyed into her ambition. Chief Udobio further corroborated the aspirant’s exposition on the political succession formula in the area and noted that right from the era of Eastern Nigeria, none of the Oku Clan indigenes has ever ascended beyond the position of a councilor and pleaded his royal colleagues to rise in defense of truth, equity, fairness and justice as the train has shifted to Oku Clan.
 In a separate response, the of Chairman, Etoi Clan Council, Obong Dr. Cosmas Sampson a.k.a. Eminka thanked the aspirant for the honour done him by consulting him to declare her intentions and assured her of the support of his Clan.  Obong cosmas maintained that he was really amazed by the intellectual capability of Lady Barr Stella Ezekiel and stated that politics “is a game for intellectuals not riff-raffs” and reiterated that Etoi people will only queue behind the most credible candidate which he said was found in the person of Barr Stella Ezekiel.
The assurance of the royal father was further boosted when he said ’’we are sending you to be signboard in the house to change the status quo’’.
  In his vote of thanks, Hon. killian Thompson thanked the people of Etoi for their kind reception accorded the team and prayed God to cause the prayers to swiftly come to fruition; just as prayers were also offered to the aspirant by Obong Eno Thompson on behalf of Etoi Clan Council.
 Meanwhile at the Offot Ukwa Clan Council, the royal father, His Highness Obong Ettebom Sylvanus Okon (JP) openly admitted that it was the rightful turn of Ward 2 to produce the House of Assembly member so as to balance the political rotation formula. Ettebom Sylvanus assured the House of Assembly hopeful of the total support of Etoi people and personally assured her of his own vote, the gesture that other members of the Clan Council equally emulated.

                    

The royal father however offered words of advice to the aspirant urging her not to allow herself to be intimidated by anyone to abandon her ambition but should rather be resilient in her pursuit as the people were solidly behind her “Go! Go and break the covenant of failed leadership in Uyo State Constituency” Obong Okon charged.
 Ettebom Sylvanus Okon equally urged the people to be firm in their support to the aspirant of their choice rather than trading their interest on flimsy and trivial benefits which he said lasted for only a little time. The royal father also offered blessing and prayers to the aspirant and joined forces with members of his Clan Council to urge the aspirant not to forget the people when she emerges as member of the house.
 In her vote of thanks Obonanwan Ubom thanked the royal father and members of the Clan Council for the warm reception and support given the team and promised that Lady Ezekiel will live up to the trust reposed in her.

Among the personalities that made the delegation that visited the Etoi and Offot Ukwa Clan Councils were Chief (trado Doctor) Daniel Udobio, Udu Oku 1 of Oku Clan Council. Hon Joseph Edem, Chairman Divine Change 2015 Campaign Organization, Sir Ezekiel Okon Udoh husband to the House of Assembly hopeful, Lady Barr Stellar Ezekiel Udoh, the House of Assembly hopeful, Hon Ekong Ituen, Obong Donatus, Hon Sunday Udokang, Obong Emmanuel Mofat Udoekong among a host of others.
 

Whereas at the palace of the Clan Head of Etoi, personalities present include Obong Eno Thompson and other members of the Clan council while those present at the Offot Ukwa Clan Council included His Royal highness Ettebom Sylvanus Effiong Okon, Clan head of Offot Ukwa,  Obong Paulinus, Obong Linus Essien, Obong Christopher Ekosu among others.