The purported political face-off between Senator Godswill Akpabio and Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State which started like a small fire is assuming a new twist. The showdown is gradually turning to a political inferno which has consumed a commissioner and could consume many political gladiators and players alike as the fire rages.
Though Akpabio tried to douse the political fire, Udom is stoking the fire using mercenaries in what looks like a comeback fight to show his political and financial muscle to secure his second term bid without qualms. Of course, his interest is to get back the political structure and maintain it.
The journey to the full-blown political crisis started when Moses Ekpo, the state deputy governor on Sunday, December 31, 2017 gathered some political stakeholders of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District under the aegis of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for an annual get-together party. Senator Godswill Akpabio stoked the fire by speaking against the perceived marginalization of the senatorial district by the governor, insisting that he would only support Emmanuel for a second term if he addresses such.
Akpabio, who is representing the senatorial district in the National Assembly, lamented that some of the projects embarked upon by his (Akpabio’s) administration including the multi-million naira Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at Ikot Ekpene and the dualised Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road, had been abandoned by governor Emmanuel, noting that the completion of the projects would form part of the recommendations for his re-election in 2019.
“2018 is less than one year to election. All is not well. Don’t allow anybody to deceive you that all is well. If the hotel in Ikot Ekpene rots after so much money had been expended on the project, would that be a good thing? That road from Uyo to Ikot Ekpene, is still the way it was. In the 2018 budget, what is the percentage for Ikot Ekpene senatorial district?” Akpabio queried. He charged the governor to remove the wedge that stifles development in his zone or be prepared to face the consequences of such action in 2019.
“So, let us have something from the senatorial district to use in talking about election; to use in convincing the people to stand by us. We are in opposition, we don’t have government. We don’t have Police. We don’t have INEC,” the Senator concluded.
In what looked like a reaction to Senator Akpabio’s outcry, Mr. Charles Udoh, the commissioner for information and strategy on January 3, reiterated that Governor Emmanuel is committed to a sustainable development of the state with equitable distribution of democracy dividends to all sections of the state devoid of political inclination.
Udoh, who stated this in Uyo in a live interaction AKBC Radio programme, ‘Akwa Ibom Abodie’, said everything government is doing and will ever do is to ensure that things get better for all Akwa Ibomites irrespective of political divide.
“…Let’s bury our political differences and unite in love with Governor Udom Emmanuel to build a state we will all be proud of. Akwa Ibom belongs to all of us,” Udoh emphasised.
In what looked like a U-turn in their aforesaid stand, some PDP stakeholders from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District led by Senator Akpabio on Thursday, January 4, 2018 visited and endorsed the governor for a second term in office.
Though the breakfast meeting with the Governor at Government House, Uyo, ended on a rancorous note, the stakeholders still declared their unanimous support for him.
Akpabio waved olive branch to calm the political temperature generated by his statement seen as “incendiary” in government’s quarters. Briefing the press after the meeting, Akpabio said the political stalwarts paid the governor New Year visit, saying that the meeting afforded them the opportunity of discussing issues concerning the state.
As a fall-out of the meeting, Charles Udoh, the commissioner for information and strategy, announced the sack of a commissioner on Friday, January 5. The statement reads: “Governor Udom Emmanuel has effected a minor reshuffling of his cabinet. By this development, the Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Udo Ekpenyong, has been relieved of his portfolio with immediate effect.
“The Government of Akwa Ibom State thanks Ekpenyong for his services to the state while serving as a member of the State Executive Council and wishes him well in his future endeavours.”
It was alleged that the commissioner insulted Senator Akpabio during the meeting. An unconfirmed report has it that Udom has mandated Ekpenyong to nominate his replacement, an action further seen as an effrontery to undermine Akpabio’s political legacy. Another unconfirmed report alleged that some persons from Akpabio’s clan visited the home of the sacked commissioner to demand for a return of a car he (Akpabio as a governor) was said to have given him. And this resulted in some shoot-out.
As a riposte to Akpabio’s earlier statement on the perceived marginalisation of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, Aniekeme Finbarr, Personal Assistant to Governor Udom on Media, churned out an article entitled “All is Well In Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District” on Saturday, January 6.
He submitted “Every senatorial district, federal constituency, local government, ward and family has a testimony or two to attest to in this era of superior performance. Since 2015, life- touching projects in the state have been clearly and equitably prioritized irrespective of geographical slants, ethnic zones or tribal algebra.
In short, he listed roads constructed and political appointments made by the governor for Ikot Ekpene to conclude that the district was faring well not marginalized as earlier alleged by Akpabio.
In a rejoinder to the article, Anietie Ekong, Special Assistant on Media to the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Akpabio, berated him in his piece entitled “Re: All is well in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.”
Ekong opined; “Reading through the article by Aniekeme Finbarr, a Personal Assistant on Media to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, one is left wondering whether he means well for the Governor or is an agent provocateur on a mission to destroy the good relationship presently existing between the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel.”
Ekong rebuffed “Looking at it on its face value and for whatever it is worth what Finbarr sought to do is to reply Senator Akpabio that contrary to what the Senator had said, indeed the concerns by the elders, youths, women, leadership and the entire people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District is misplaced. It’s like telling Senator Akpabio, “shut up sir.”
According to him, “Coming at a time that there has been some form of rapprochement among the elders and the areas of concern being addressed, Finbarr’s article is at best provocative and indeed a serious threat to the peace building effort. If unchecked, it has the potential of further alienating the people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District from the administration of Mr. Udom Emmanuel.
“Some form of excitement comes with writing an article for public consumption especially writing on issues of public interest. But it is the taming of such exuberance especially when one is a spokesperson of the government that defines maturity. By stoking the fire and out rightly insulting Senator Akpabio, the Personal Assistant to the Governor on Media, Finbarr exhibited none of such.
“But not so with an overzealous media aide who wants to stoke fire against his boss by insulting the leader of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District and inciting the people against the Governor.”
Ekong concluded “Writing a highly inflammatory article by a media aide to the Governor to spite and diminish the Senate Minority Leader is most unfortunate and most unhelpful even to the government that he defends.”
But Chief Assam E. Assam (SAN) joined the bout on Wednesday, January 8 by throwing barbs on Akpabio over Gov. Udom Emmanuel.
Under the title ‘Akwa Ibom: An Era of Political Sophistry,’ Ambassador Assam, seen as habitual petition writer declared “This is the wee morning of January 2018.” He referred to The Vanguard Online reported on the 1st of January 2018 and noted that “The story, which has not been refuted, to my knowledge, the perception of marginalization stems from the non-completion of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene Road and the non-utilization of the Hotel at Ikot Ekpene. Let me quickly say that non completion of projects in the first term of Governors in Akwa Ibom State has never been a condition precedent to re-election. If it were, the first victim could have been Godswill Akpabio himself. I will come to that anon.
Called different names by Facebook users and regarded as an unkind beneficiary of Akpabio’s largesse, he noted ”What is pertinent at this point is to go back memory lane, recalling those fantasy projects that Governor Akpabio would reel out at press conferences, birthday parties, wedding receptions, airport chance meetings, among others as having been completed and commissioned by his administration and for which he was severally nominated for performance related awards. The endless list always had these projects he now claims are yet to be completed. This hotel, Akpabio commissioned on the 26th of May 2015 with so much fanfare, as ‘Four Points by Sheraton’, an international hotel brand with beds, etal was uncompleted? Could ‘Four Points by Sheraton’ lend its name to this monumental fraud without any consequences? Now that this has been placed in the public domain by the distinguished senator himself, it may be worthwhile to seek the truth, using other avenues.
“The Uyo-Ikot Ekpene Road, project, a 25 kilometer road awarded in February of 2012 to Julius Berger at an undisclosed cost, was to be completed within 12 months. The project was not part of the State’s appropriation for 2012. It was only after its award that as usual, a supplementary appropriation bill was sent to the House of Assembly. Which meant other projects as we shall soon see in the approved budget for the financial year, had to be ignored for the funding of this all-important project. However, as usual, one lane of the dual carriage road was commissioned by the said senator, when he was in office as Governor.
“If this project was so dear to the Senator’s senatorial district, that he could hold the current administration responsible for not completing it, how come that for two and a half years after the award of the contract and the payment of huge sums normally attributable to JB contracts, the project was abandoned by Governor Akpabio himself? And if there is anything I can swear to is the fact that Akpabio had one of the most efficient Works Ministries; so what was the problem that needed to be fixed within 30 months of Akpabio’s administration which was left for the next administration, if the completion of the project was of such monumental value to him?
“It is, however, instructive to note that the first and flagship project of Akpabio’s administration was the Tropicana project in Uyo, a complex that was to have a five star hotel, a shopping mall, a cinema complex, a conference centre for 5000 persons, a wet and dry park (said to be designed after a facility in Dubai) etc. In an extensively publicized contract signing agreement in July of 2007, the project which was to be completed in thirty months was at a cost of N33,000,000,000.00 (thirty three billion naira). Don’t forget this was in 2007 and as we speak I doubt if anyone knows the cost of this project. At the same time, he awarded the contract for the design and construction of Abak-Ikot Ekpene and Afaha Obong –Etim Ekpo Roads in his aforesaid senatorial district. The wisdom of the road projects could not be questioned. They were roads which had become a nightmare and like a lot of roads in other senatorial districts were in great need of construction.
“The fact that the Governor started with his district drew no ire or condemnation from anybody. It was a necessity. The said roads were completed within record time but the Tropicana project in Uyo, outside the Governor’s community, was not completed within the 8 years of Akpabio’s administration nor has it been completed. Yet the Uyo people did not give the completion of the Tropicana as a condition precedent to his re-election.
“The Uyo-Abak dualized road with a two hundred meter bridge emptying into a single carriage Abak-Ekparakwa road was designed to ensure that the Prisons in Abak was relocated to Essien Udim as a part of the prisons relocation exercise of the Akpabio Administration. The dualized Abak – Ikot Ekpene Road complete with street lights and drainage; the Afaha-Obong Etiim Ekpo Road which links the Etim Ekpo-Ika Road to Ukana East in Essien Udim Local Government Area the immediate ward of the distinguished senator; the Ikot Ekpene prisons relocation exercise on the pretext that it was within the immediate precincts of the city centre. While this argument may be correct, the senator, while Governor completely forgot or did not know that outside Ikot Ekpene and Abak Prisons, Eket prisons, which was the first in the state was within the immediate precincts of the city centre too but it behoved the Governor to construct an ultra-modern prison in his village.
“The Ikot Ekpene city centre is today a model in city reclamation programs in Nigeria. The entire roads in the town are asphalted with drains in the most qualitative way. Then the hotel, the first of its kind in the state though designed without an industrial kitchen and a conference centre and without the inputs of the brand whose imprimatur was used to commission it on the 26th of May 2015. Even the much vaunted fly-overs built in Uyo are all directed at traffic to Ikot Ekpene. The ever busy and traffic ridden Aka Road enjoys a remodeled roundabout and deserved no fly-over because it did not lead to Ikot Ekpene. The Federal Government needed to cite a polytechnic in the State; he took it to his village. To now accuse Udom Emmanuel of marginalization of his people makes the senator come across as a selfish, self-conceited bigot. This is a classic case of calling a dog a bad name to hang it.
Assam hinted “To Your memory cannot fail you so fast that you cannot recall that you left office as governor with over N500 billion in debts and sundry financial commitments, N83 billion of which was due to Julius Berger, your choice contractor alone, in spite of the huge financial resources at the time. As you may recall, the situation was so bad that Julius Berger dared to lock up the Stadium for non-payment of outstanding debts sequel to a crucial international football engagement. This is not to mention the cost of maintaining the stadium which you negotiated at the unbelievable sum of N600 million per annum for the same Julius Berger.”
In a no-holds-barred interview on Wednesday, January 9, Governor Emmanuel warned agent provocateurs irrespective of their status not to compromise the peace and security of the state.
Emnanuel stated this at Ibom International Airport while fielding questions from Government house correspondents on the news trending in the media, credited to Senator Akpabio, who recently said that Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District was marginalised by Udom Emmanuel administration.
He observed that with 2019 general elections around the corner, people are most likely bent on changing the narrative to score cheap political points, warning that his administration would not treat statements that are bound to cause public disaffection lightly.
Hear him, “This year is going to be a little bit busier in terms of politics and once you enter into a political terrain of this nature so many things come up.
“… but let me also use this platform to warn any Akwa Ibom person that with the sacrifice we’ve made to maintain peace in the state, we won’t tolerate anybody, anybody underlined, to breach that peace. You can see that people have made a lot of sacrifices in the last three years to maintain peace in the state. Every genius has madness,” the governor observed.
“I want to believe that every single individual would respect himself or herself so that peace can reign in Akwa Ibom State and that is the last warning I can give,” he affirmed.
As part of the political scheming by Udom to outfox Akpabio politically, he hosted members of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to a breakfast meeting on January 10. Thereafter, Onofiok Luke, speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly; Dr. Usoro Akpanusoh, the chairman, finance and appropriations committee and other members of the committee left on an inspection tour to Four Point-By Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Ikot Ekpene built by ex-governor Akpabio.
This is to keep to their avowed intent of ensuring ample legislative ambience for a platform that could enable effective and proficient fund management appropriated for MDAs to reflect professionalism, assiduous fund management in project executions and to create strong synergy between the legislative and the executive for the benefits of all Akwa Ibom indigenes and residents.
Governor Udom may succeed in sponsoring some mercenaries to rubbish the image of Akpabio, but will he succeed in picking the governorship ticket without Akpabio? At the moment, he is not visible at the national level talk less of the state level where he has many issues to iron out with stakeholders. The governor has deficit goodwill even at the national level of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that he cannot pick the ticket without the support of Akpabio.
More importantly, the governor is starting the fight too late with few months to governorship primaries, and how can he sustain the fight? How can he win the primaries and of course the governorship race without the Akpabio factor? Other senatorial districts may pledge support to him, yet these are shopping centres. Ikot Ekpene is the only district that can give him at least 80 per cent votes, but in other districts the votes have to be split. This is the time for him (the governor) to rise up, build his house and leave mischief makers who want to make money from the ‘all is well’ mantra. He should not use his legs to scatter home-grown umbrella- the few committed supporters he has in the political kitty.
