The
fortune of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State has improved
tremendously, reports Dare Odufowokan, The Nation Assistant Editor.
LEADERS
and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State converged
recently to review the party’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of the 2019
General Election and to also proffer strategies on how to deliver on their
earlier promise to wrestle the political control of the oil-rich state out of
the hands of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the next
governorship election.
Sources
at the stakeholders meeting said it was an opportunity for party chieftains to
look back and applaud the many successes recorded by the opposition party since
the last general election in 2015. The Nation gathered that the leadership of
the APC in the state used the occasion to commend chieftains of the party
across the state for their steadfastness which has turned the party into the
darling of the people of the state.
A
chieftain of the party, Hon. Effiong Achianga, who spoke with our
correspondence, said the meeting, which is actually one of the many periodic
routine meetings, usually called by the Dr. Amadu Attai-led state executive
committee, was meant to appraise the party’s stand as a leading political party
in the state. “We wanted to know how we stand. We wanted to know if it is true
that the APC in Akwa Ibom is making progress.
“There
is no doubt that the APC is the party to beat in our state today. The records
are there for all to see. While the ruling party, in spite of the many
patronages and appointments it is capable of doling out, is daily losing
members, the APC, which today is in the opposition, is being joined by
thousands on a weekly basis. Many leading chieftains of the PDP are today in
the APC,’ he said.
Achianga’s
claim is not without basis. To say the least, the APC in Akwa Ibom State has
been enjoying a change in its political fortune since it failed to unseat the
PDP at the governorship election in 2015. Not only has it successfully kept
Governor Udom Emmanuel and his cabinet on their toes with constant criticism of
the government’s policies and programmes, the party has also been successful in
reaching out to the people of the state as an alternative platform ahead of the
2019 General Election.
And
to show its rising profile within the state, the party has been playing host to
several political bigwigs and their supporters who daily dump other parties to
join the APC. “Our claim to being the party to beat is not far-fetched. Look
around the state today and tell me which other party people are joining the way
they are moving into our party? And tell me those who have left the APC for any
other party,” Achianga added.
And
as if to confirm the party’s claim to rising fortune, the rank of the PDP got
depleted penultimate Friday, barely two weeks after the said meeting, with the
defection of at least 5,000 of its members to the APC. The defection followed
weeks of hide-and-seek games between the defectors and some prominent
chieftains of the ruling party who were bent on convincing the defectors to
shelve the idea of leaving the ruling party.
“Immense
pressure was mounted on them to stay back in the PDP. It was even rumoured that
a serving commissioner knelt down before the defectors at a meeting to beg them
to bury their anger with the PDP and stay back. They were offered money,
contracts and appointments. But because they have come to realise that the APC
is the party to belong to in Akwa Ibom today, they still joined us,” a party
source claimed.
Led
by erstwhile frontline PDP chieftain in the state, Chief Okon Bassey, the 5,000
former PDP members were drawn from a component of five local government areas
of the state. They were received into the APC by the chairman of the party in
the state, Dr. Amadu Attai, and the event was witnessed by the federal
commissioner of the National Population Commission (NPC), Engr. Benedict
Ukpong.
A
harvest of defectors
The good fortune of the APC in the state did not start with the recent
defection of 5, 000 PDP members. Earlier in the year, the ruling party was
thrown into unexpected confusion when Senator Nelson Effiong, representing Akwa
Ibom South Senatorial District, dumped the ruling party and defected to the
APC. The APC in the state was no doubt strengthened by the coming into its fold
of the Senator.
Effiong,
while quoting Order 43 at plenary, said his decision was to enable him pursue
his political career. He said: “I was elected into the Senate on the platform
of the Peoples Democratic Party, but over the past one year, this great party
has disintegrated. As a result of the crisis in the party, which appeared to be
intractable, I have decided that no reasonable politician will allow his people
to drift without direction.”
Expectedly,
the PDP in the state moved against Effiong and sought to have his seat declared
vacant. Led by former Governor Godswill Akpabio, who is the Minority Leader of
the Senate, the party made several efforts to either browbeat Effiong to
retrace his step or get him sacked from the National Assembly for leaving the
PDP for the APC.
“The PDP is pained by the Senator’s decision to dump them. They are working
round the clock to deal with him. But they will fail. The Senator was elected
by his people and now that the same people say they are tired of the PDP, he
must listen to them. His people are now in the APC, he cannot remain in the PDP
without them. That is why he is not deterred by the many persecution he is
being subjected to,” Achianga said.
As
if the Senator’s defection wasn’t bad enough, a PDP member in the House of
Representatives, Rep. Emmanuel Ukoette, representing Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal
Constituency of Akwa Ibom, followed suit and unexpectedly announced his
defection to the APC. He became the second member of the National Assembly from
the state to switch loyalty to the APC.
Ukoette
said he was leaving the PDP because of the inability of factions within the
party to reconcile their differences. “It is clear to Nigerians that the PDP is
factionalised and therefore, baring members, especially I, from engaging my
constituents well enough. Consequently, I find it difficult to remain in the
PDP and as such, I have decided to move over to the APC.”
Similarly,
Etang Umoyo, a Third Republic senator who represented Eket Senatorial District
in the Senate, dumped the PDP for the APC in Akwa Ibom. The former frontline
PDP chieftain, while giving reason for his defection, said “the state is moving
backwards under the government of the PDP.” He went ahead to register with the
APC in his Etebi Ward 7 in Esit Eket Local Government Area of the state.
“Today
is just for me to officially present myself to my Ward as a member of APC but I
had long abandoned a group of mafians who called themselves politicians in PDP
immediately after the gubernatorial primaries in 2014 which saw to the
imposition of a particular candidate against the wishes of the people. Today,
the state is moving backwards because of that singular act of impunity,” he
added.
Shortly
before Umoyo’s move to the APC, three former local government chairmen under
the PDP in Uyo, the state capital, had dumped the ruling party for the
opposition APC. They reportedly left the PDP with many of their supporters. The
former local government chairmen are Chief Clement Ekott, Aniekan Ubia and
Fidelis Eddie. A former State Surveyor-General, Surveyor Okokon Essien, also
dumped the PDP for APC.
Speaking
on behalf of the defectors, Chief Ekott, who said he had been in politics since
1979, pledged their commitment to the success of APC in Uyo. He said with the
barrage of defection hitting the PDP, the party is no longer popular in the
state. Also speaking, Eddie said, with the calibre of the defectors, who he
described as the finest crop of Uyo politicians, the APC was certain to win
every election in the state capital.
Gov Udom too?
And
to further worry the ruling party, talks about Governor Udom Emmanuel himself
dumping the PDP for the APC remain rife in spite of several denials by both the
government and the ruling party. Political observers claim the undying rumour
is being encouraged by suspicion of a frosty relationship between Emmanuel and
his predecessor, Senator Akpabio.
“If
it is true that Emmanuel is no longer at peace with Akpabio, or that Akpabio is
no longer favorably disposed towards Emmanuel, those saying the governor may
dump the PDP may not be too far from the truth. Without Akpabio, there is no
place for Emmanuel in PDP. It will not be out of place for him to seek
political freedom and relevance in the opposition party should that scenario
arise,” a source said.
But
should he ever desire to join the APC, Emmanuel may not find it easy as he will
have to contend with the 2015 governorship candidate of the party, Obong Umana
Okon Umana and the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC) Obong Nsima Ekere. The two are believed to be eying the 2019
governorship ticket of the APC.
But
the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Ekerete Udoh, has always
described the report of Emmanuel’s plan to dump the PDP as a lie that should be
ignored by the people of Akwa Ibom State. He said the governor is totally
committed to the ideals and principles of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
and would not trade a treasure like the PDP with any other thing.
The Chief Press Secretary said “There is no truth in this malicious rumour. The
governor remains a committed and loyal member of the PDP. It will be recalled
that the PDP in an enlarged caucus meeting where over 500 of its state, chapter
and ward executives met recently, passed a vote of confidence on Gov. Emmanuel
for his leadership style and achievements. They went ahead to declare their
support for him in the 2019 governorship elections.”
‘PDP’ll bite the dust’
‘PDP’ll bite the dust’
Buoyed by its rising profile and the many troubles being faced by the ruling
PDP, the APC in Akwa Ibom State says it is certain of victory at the next
governorship election in the state. The party, through its chieftains, has been
telling Governor Udom and the ruling party to be prepared for a change of guard
in the administration of the state on May 29, 2019.
Recently, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on
National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, called on Emmanuel to
start packing his belongings out of the Government House ahead of the 2019
election. He described the governor as “the easiest candidate to defeat. He
claimed the governor’s poor performance has already made him vulnerable for
easy defeat by any candidate that may be paraded by the APC.
“That
Governor Udom Emmanuel has been adopted as sole candidate by PDP makes him the
easiest candidate to defeat. If they field Governor Emmanuel again, then PDP
will bite the dust. APC will not believe in endorsement; the party wants more
people to contest for the party ticket, believing that the party will choose
the best if more people are given opportunity to contest,” he said.
Similarly,
Achianga said the party will win the 2019 governorship election in the state.
He said the mass defections from the PDP in the state is an endorsement of APC
as the party with an enduring potential to reposition the state and meet the
age-long yearnings of the people, adding that the defections from the PDP were
caused by a growing lack of public confidence in the party.
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