Barely hours before the primaries election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom state, one of the governorship aspirants in the party, Barr. Bassey Dan-Abia, has vaunted that he is the only aspirant with the prerequisite wealth of experience to handle the state’s top job.
Abia, who was addressing a crowd of his supporters Thursday during his official declaration in Uyo, urged members of the party to back him to emerge as the party’s governorship candidate at the primaries slated for Saturday, 29 September, 2018 and subsequently as governor of the state.
“I have served in the government of Akwa Ibom state in various ministries. I have been an Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in this state so I know the right laws to apply for the good governance of this state. I have been a Commissioner for Transport in this state. I have also been Commissioner for Housing and Urban Renewal in this state. I have also represented Akwa Ibom state as representative in the governing board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. That is experience.
“I have been the acting chairman of the governing board of NDDC. I have also served as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NDDC. That is experience. You don’t buy that from the market. Armed with these experiences, I will not need more than four years because I am conscious of the zoning arrangement in Akwa Ibom State.
“Those that were not allowed to vote in the last primaries; whether your name was removed wrongly or not, as long as you are on the party’s register, you are eligible to vote on Saturday. Vote for a governor for the first time in a long while that you can call your own- a governor who is not imposed on you; a governor who will be duly nominated and elected by you,” he said.
The governorship aspirant also hinted that he would bridge the obvious divide in the party and reconcile aggreived members if elected as the governor of the state in 2019.
Speaking of his plans for the state of he becomes governor, Abia said “this is going to be your own government; one that you will be proud to call your own and not their government. This government will be inclusive. This government will be very conscious of the problem on the ground because the person that will drive this government has also been a student in the past.
“I am not coming into this race to create confusion either within the party of Akwa Ibom State, rather I am coming to heal the wound. I am coming to close the division. I am coming to emphasise those things that unite us rather than those things that divide us. In my government, we will ensure transparency. We will eliminate corruption because we will strengthen institutions. We do not need strong men but we need strong institutions. When the institutions are strong, even weak men will be strengthened.
Earlier in an interaction with this reporter, the immediate past Member who represented Onna/Ibeno/Eket/Esit Eket federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon.(Barr) Bassey Dan Abia Jnr. described the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel as a colossal failure in terms of performance and delivery of campaign promises.
According to the lawmaker, Governor Emmanuel since assumption of office in 2015, could not initiate and complete any project, not even to complete projects executed by the previous administration.
He expressed disappointment over the Governor’s inability to even maintain projects executed by past administrations, citing the Anniversary Specialist Hospital, the Ibom Tropicana, Street lights among other abandoned projects in the State as example.
He called for massive support for the aspiration of Sir Dan Abia who according to him has an unbeaten records of integrity, achievements, and public trust.
He vowed that Sir Dan Abia would serve for only four years to complete the remaining one term for Eket senatorial district, noting that, Dan Abia will not be found wanting in terms of leadership and provision of dividends of democracy.
