The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Akpabio

  • Akpabio’s uncommon defection

    AFTER some extraordinary dithering, former Akwa Ibom State governor and Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio finally defected to the APC. He was received with considerable fanfare, and will yet attract magnificent accolades as he berths in the ruling party with uncommon aplomb. Ignore the reasons for the defection; indeed it really does not matter why the hundreds who have defected have done so. Ignore whether he has ulterior motives for crossing over, as his traducers allege. What matters is what he himself has said of the defection: that he was taking that fateful step because, among other reasons, he wished to link his state with the centre. Really? Quite as simple as that? Nothing grand and ennobling?

    His consolation must be that hardly anyone who has defected has done so for noble reasons. Sen Akpabio is thus in good company. His rhetoric when he was received in the presence of a huge crowd was captivating, punctuated with grand oratory and the lofty prefix of ‘uncommon’. The defecting senator must pray, like other defectors including Dr Saraki, that when he wakes up every morning and looks in the mirror, he can recognise himself, especially what he looked like yesterday.

  • Akpabio a huge burden to Akwa Ibom – PDP elders

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elders in Akwa Ibom on Saturday described the former governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio, as a huge financial burden to the state government.

    The elders under the aegis of Akwa Ibom Elders Vanguard said Akpabio’s excessive demands from Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration had ended with his exit from the party.

    Addressing journalists in Uyo, the leader of the group, Senator Anietie Okon, said Akpabio’s defection would allow Governor Udom to focus on the development of the state with steady financial resources instead of distraction from the ex-governor.

    The elders, who were accompanied by Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, Obong Bassey Inuaeyen, Hon. Ndueson Essien Dr. Emmanuel Ukpong among others, also accused Akpabio of hypocrisy by making negative comments against Governor Udom.

     

     

  • Akpabio: Ex-Senate minority leader steals defection show

    WHATEVER doubt was left about the defection of former Akwa Ibom State governor, Senator Godswill Akpabio, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was erased on Tuesday with the announcement of his resignation as the minority leader at the upper chamber of the National Assembly. In a statement issued by his media aide, Jackson Udom, Senator Akpabio was full of gratitude to “the leadership, the minority leadership, all distinguished senators, the Peoples Democratic Party for the opportunity to lead the PDP caucus in the last three years.”

    When the defection of Akpabio from the PDP to the APC began like a tale from the rumour mill last week, not a few people dismissed it with a wave of the hand, knowing how passionate he had been about the PDP, the party he once boasted would rule the country for 60 years.

    But passion is not without a lifespan, and his for the PDP expired last week. There is no passion found in settling for a lifestyle that is less than the one you are capable of living, former South African leader, Nelson Mandela, had warned long before Akpabio’s defection was capped with the grand reception the APC organised for him in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, on Wednesday. The immediate past minority leader apparently was fed up with the PDP not only as a leader of the party, but also as its symbol in Akwa Ibom State and the Niger Delta region at large, hence he took what he felt was the next best step: quit the party.

    The shock wave that has swept through the PDP on account of Akpabio’s defection would hardly come as a surprise to any keen watcher of events on the nation’s political landscape. Coming at a time the party was basking in the euphoria of the defection of three governors, 14 senators and about 37 members of the House of Representatives from the APC to the PDP, Akpabio’s change of camp neutralised and virtually eclipsed the storm the latter party sought to unleash on the former. It could have been a humiliation of the ruling party until Akpabio stepped into the ring and changed the entire complexion of the defection show.

    Surprisingly, Akpabio’s shadow was on the wall long before the announcement of his defection, but few members of the party appeared to realise that the sun was going down. Akpabio had long hinted about his imminent defection from the PDP when he declared that any political party could return to his seat at the Senate in 2019. The signs became clearer penultimate Thursday when the party’s minority leader at the Senate boycotted the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the PDP in Abuja and headed instead for the Presidential Villa for a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in company with his fellow Akwa Ibom politician, Senator Ita Enang.

    And while tongues were still wagging over Akpabio’s meeting with the Vice President, his picture with Buhari in London appeared on the social media, sending panic waves through the camp of the opposition party and cutting short its celebration. The master tactician has changed the game and things are not likely to remain the same again for the opposition party in Akwa Ibom State and the Niger Delta region in general. The massive crowd that turned out at the reception the APC organised for him in Ikot-Ekpene on Wednesday would attest to this fact.

    Besides his influence and financial muscle, political observers believe that his oratory power combined with that of the National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, will make a lethal combination, particularly in the Niger Delta region where the APC appears to be making steady progress ahead of the 2019 elections. That, perhaps, explains the hues and cries that have greeted the defection of the astute political tactician in the camp of the PDP.

    For instance, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, described Akpabio’s change of camp from the PDP to the APC as a stab in the back of the senators who supported him to be elected as the Minority Leader in the Senate.

    Urhoghide said: “If it is true Akpabio is going away, it is a stab on some of us. He stabbed us in the back and he knows where his place in history will be in this country.

    “It is a stab, even if it is because the EFCC is intimidating and harassing him. It would have been more honourable for him to go to jail because those who run away from us, like Senator Joshua Dariye, and went to the APC was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.

    “If Akpabio was just an ordinary senator, nobody would have bothered about him. But because he was the Minority Leader, that is the leader of the PDP caucus in the Senate, he ought to have come back to us to say the mandate you gave to me to be your leader, I am hereby giving it back to you.”

    But Akpabio has since debunked insinuations to the effect that he defected to the APC to seek protection from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying that he had been investigated by the anti-graft agency and found to be as clean as a hound’s tooth. That, he said, was the reason he waited for corrupt people to leave the APC before he joined the ruling party. A proof of Akpabio’s wits the PDP would have to endure in the days ahead.

  • Why I defected to APC, by Akpabio

    Former Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio said yesterday he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) “in the national interest” and because President Muhammadu Buhari “is  a man of integrity and a nationalist’’.

    The 55-year-old former Akwa Ibom State governor gave other reasons why he joined the ruling party as the need to put all hands on the deck to salvage the situation in the country and not to aggravate it,” adding that “the country is at war … and everyone should put heads together. I decided to join to emancipate the people and provide succour for the people.”

    He said the nationalist instinct in him also informed his decision at a time the nation needed peace to grapple with pressing challenges.

    “I decided to join the APC at this time because I am a nationalist. In times like this, everybody should support to bring peace to our dear nation; to stop the killings and ensure employment for our teeming youths.

    “With my declaration, uncommon change has come to Akwa Ibom. We believe that Southsouth cannot stand alone on its own.

    “We need to collaborate with others. I consulted. What I have done today is to take the people of the Southsouth to the centre.

    “Whatever I do is in the interest of of Akwa Ibom. I want to leave a legacy in the national interest.

    He also urged his former party to have what he called a reward system.

    “With my exit, this is the end of PDP in Niger Delta’’.

    He also urged Nigerians to believe in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Do not be afraid of President Muhammadu Buhari. If your hands are clean. Nigerians have not seen the best of Buhari; so give him the chance.’’

    He spoke at a rally at the Ikot Ekpene Township Stadium that joining the APC would enable him have the opportunity to work with others to sweep away poverty and impunity. The broom is the APC’s symbol.

    He said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of today had no vision and the leadership is arrogance.

    Akpabio said all hands must be on deck to salvage the situation.

    “I will like to be a conspirator to conspire to bring peace to Nigeria; I will like to be a conspirator who joins hands to bring food to the table of Nigerians. I will like to be a conspirator who conspires to stop the killings in our country. I will like to be a conspirator who conspires to join hands to bring good employment to our children. I will like to be a conspirator who brings uncommon transformation to the people of Nigeria. I will like to be a conspirator who dualised road from here (Ikot Ekpene) to Aba.

    “I do not want to be a conspirator who joins hands to topple government. I do not want to talk about Akwa Ibom State, because I am here on a national platform, but I will like to tell you something today. This is the moment of uncommon change. Uncommon change has come to Akwa Ibom State. Uncommon change has come to Southsouth. Uncommon change has come to Niger Delta.

    “Some people are saying that they put a gun on my head. I have a young man here who wrote a lot of petitions against me to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Those petitions were sorted out and as I stand before you, I have never been charged to court, because nothing was found wanting in my covenant to Akwa Ibom people.

    “The Southsouth as a minority zone cannot stand on its own. The Southsouth as the largest producer of the resources of this country should also partake in the sharing of the resources. What I have done today (yesterday) is to link the Southsouth to the centre. What I have done today (yesterday) is to link Akwa Ibom to the centre.

    Akpabio also apologised to all the people he had offended, who were in the APC before he arrived, asking them to kindly forgive him,  stressing that whatever he did was in the interest of the good people of Akwa Ibom state.

    He accused Senator Ben Murray-Bruce of lying against him, on his alleged presence at the National Assembly on Monday.

  • Akpabio is an ‘uncommon defector’ – Oshiomhole

    National chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole stirred the huge crowd at Ikot Ekpene Stadium in Akwa Ibom State, with his fiery speech and dance steps.

    Oshiomhole,former governor of Edo state, joined party big wigs, including the national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to formally receive defecting ex-senate minority leader, Godswill Akpabio.

    Akpabio and his wife, Ekaette, and others senators that attended the ceremony displayed their dancing prowess, gyrating to the melodious music, “Shekem’’.

    Oshiomhole described the event as the reception for “an uncommon defector and a man of honour’’.

    He described Akpabio as a symbol of unity who would lead Akwa Ibom to join Edo as APC states in the South South in 2019.

    He explained that opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has deceived the people for 16 years and Nigerians were no longer ready for to embrace the party.

    The chairman of APC challenged Senate President Bukola Saraki to emulate Akpabio by relinquishing his seat.

    “Senator Akpabio has demonstrated what the people of South South stand for by quitting the seat of senate minority leader.

    “It is the turn of Saraki to vacate his seat as President of the senate.’’

    Oshiomhole, said Akpabio was joining APC to solidify his position as the former minority leader of the senate.

    Akpabio, he said, has demonstrated that he meant good for the people of South South.

    He urged the people to appreciate Akpabio for his role as a builder,

    “I feel extremely proud of Akpabio and humble also with the kind of crowd that I have seen in Ikot Ekpene today.

    “I am happy I came here today to see the bond that exists between Akpabio and the people of Akwa Ibom and I deeply appreciate this,’’ Oshiomhole said..

  • BREAKING: Akpabio resigns as Senate Minority Leader

    A former Governor of Akwa Ibom State,  Godswill Akpabio, has resigned as the Minority Leader of the 8th Senate.
    Akpabio, who represents Akwa Ibom North West, is set to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to the All Progressives Congress(APC) on Wednesday.
    According to a statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Jackson Udom, the resignation letter was dated August 4, 2028.
    Udom said the letter was addressed to the Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha.
    The statement said: “Senator Akpabio thanked the Senate leadership, the minority leadership, all distinguished Senators and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the opportunity to lead the PDP Caucus in the last three years.
    “Senator Akpabio is expected to be received into the All Progressives Congress (APC) at a rally in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State on Wednesday, August 8, 2018.”

  • Akpabio, Tinubu meet as PDP threatens action

    •Presidency: no terms attached                             

    •Constituents vow to ‘reclaim seat’

    Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio, who is expected to be received into the All Progressives Congress (APC) tomorrow in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, yesterday visited Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to round off his consultation.

    Akpabio arrived at Tinubu’s Abuja home at 4pm.

    A source said: “Sen. Akpabio met with the National Leader of APC to brief him and for further consultations ahead of his defection. There is no going back on his defection.”

    “He has had audience with President Muhammadu Buhari in London, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, and he deemed it necessary to consult with Asiwaju Tinubu.

    “All these consultations are geared towards his seamless movement from PDP to APC.”

    Another source, who is close to Akpabio, said: “It is a done deal; the Senate Minority Leader has joined the APC to prove a point that he is no pushover as a politician who truly served Akwa Ibom State.

    “He is actually not looking at the ceremonial aspect of the defection; he is ready for the 2019 battle in his state. He gave the PDP enough opportunity to reconcile and ensure justice in Akwa Ibom chapter of the party but the leadership failed.

    “Since Akpabio is now in APC, it is time for the two leading parties to face the electorate to determine their fate.”

    But the PDP in Akwa Ibom State, in a last-minute effort to persuade Akpabio not to dump the party, is threatening to field a candidate against him – should he go ahead with his plan.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, said: “No condition is attached to Akpabio’s defection from PDP to APC. But we assured him of a level-playing field and a sense of belonging.

    “The APC leadership is in the picture and all our leaders, including Asiwaju Tinubu, are fully in support of Sen. Akpabio’s move to our great party

    “We will accord him all the privileges attached to a former governor. Everything is set to receive him on Wednesday.”

    Akpabio’s imminent movement has thrown the PDP into a state of shock.

    A member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) said: “We are all still in shock on why Akpabio had to dump a party which shot him into prominence.

    “Some of our leaders did their best to prevent his defection, but no one could come up with any sustainable solution to the local crisis.”

    Enang said:  “The APC has harvested more people from the PDP and other political parties.”

    He said excitedly that “the head of the PDP in the Senate is formally joining the APC family in a big ceremony on Wednesday the 8th if August in Akwa Ibom State”.

    He added: “So, the head of the PDP who holds all the documents of the PDP, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio (CON) is coming over with a great team and other minorities will join the APC family and we are good and strong.”

    But members of the PDP in Akpabio’s Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District (Ikot Ekpene) urged Akpabio to him to rethink his decision to defect, threatening not to follow him.

    Besides, they vowed to reclaim the seat from him and support Governor Emmanuel Udom.

    They took the descion at a meeting of the leadrs and stakeholders in the zone held in Abak on Sunday.

    The commununique of a meeting states:  “To contemplate moving to the APC is to put you as a prime collaborator, conspirator, and an accessory after the fact, think of the evil wrecked on Nigeria and Nigerians by the APC government.”

    They said: “In the light of the many ills of the APC government, we are advising that you please have a rethink and jettison any contemplation of leaving the PDP which is your party to the APC or any othe party at this time when the party and indeed the senatorial district is in dire need of of your support to rescue igerianand save the future of our children”

    But should he leave PDP for the APC, they vowed to support Udom “who from all availbale parametres has done well, given the very daubntong, hostile, harsh and directionaless economic envirionment engendred by the ineptitude of the APC-led government.’

  • PDP ‘begs’ Akpabio not to join APC

    There are indications that former Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, may soon join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is said to be making concerted effort not to lose him, it was learnt yesterday.

    Akpabio is said to have fallen out with his successor Governor Udom Emmanuel.

    The development appears to be a confirmation of Akpabio’s statement that “all is not well” when he met with stakeholders in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.

    A source said the PDP National Working Committee led by the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, was locked in a marathon meeting with Akpabio in his Asokoro Abuja home at the weekend.

    The meeting is believed to be a last minute effort by the opposition party to stop the Senator’s possible decampment to the ruling party.

    Akpabio is said to be unhappy with the governor for his unwillingness to open the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene which Akpabio was said to have built and furnished.

    Emmanuel is also said to have failed to complete a portion of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road.

    Akpabio had hinted at a mega rally held at Ikot Ekpene to endorse him and Emmanuel for second terms that a political party is just a vehicle for winning election.

    He also reportedly said that whichever party he decided to pitch his tent with in the 2019 elections, he would emerge a winner to continue to deliver dividends of democracy to his people.

    This has been widely perceived by political watchers as an imminent plan by Akpabio to decamp to another political party.

    A former Deputy Governor Chief Chris Ekpenyong, who chaired the rally, had also reportedly told Emmanuel that all was not well in the Senatorial District.

    Ekpenyong is said to have urged the governor to replicate the good roads and industries he has built in his Onna community to other parts of the state, as what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

    The issue was said to have cropped when at the APC mega rally in Ikot Ekpene Township Stadium where Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Managing Director Obong Nsima Ekere reportedly faulted the governor for abandoning the people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District by refusing to open the hotel and complete the road.

    Observers are said to have wondered why Emmanuel had allowed the Sheraton by Four Points Hotel and the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road issues to linger.

    Political analysts have asked what it would have cost the administration to open a hotel that had virtually been completed instead of leaving it to rot.

    Sources pointed that even though Akpabio’s predecessor, Obong Victor Attah pitched his tent with his son-in-law Dr Udoma Ekarika rather than supporting Akpabio, he (Akpabio) still built a dualised road complete with the most modern street lights to Attah’s home.

    Unconfirmed reports say the end-of-tenure entitlements of Akpabio’s political appointees were yet to be paid simply because they are “Akpabio Boys.”

    When contacted, Akpabio’s media aide Jackson Udom said he was not aware of any move by his principal to dump the PDP.

    “Senator Akpabio as far as I know is a strong member and leader of the PDP. He is the Minority Leader of the party in the Senate,” Udom added.

  • Akpabio:  I’ll return to Senate in any party

    Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio has said he will return to the National Assembly in 2019 whatever platform he chooses.

    Akpabio,  who represents Ikot Ekpene senatorial district, spoke yesterday at the grand endorsement rally in his honour and Governor Udom Emmanuel by the people of his senatorial district.

    In a veiled reference to criticisms trailing the formation of the Coalition of United Political Parties( CUPP), the former governor said he could contest the 2019 senatorial election on any party platform.

    ”I had to play down on the issue of party because I believed that any party I would contest election would guarantee me victory”.

    Addressing his people at the Ikot Ekpene Township Stadium, Akpabio declared; “Don’t be worried about election. Election is all about voting. Today you notice that I did not shout too much about party because you have given, Godswill Akpabio as an unopposed candidate. And this unopposed candidate involves all the political parties

    “Whether you call it CUPP – Coalition of United Political Parties or whether it is PDP, no matter the political party, we are saying ‘Let God’s will be done again. For diverse tendency; for those who want to divide us, let God Almighty not allow them,” Akpabio said.

    While justifying his desire to return to the Senate to consolidate his “uncommon representation”,  Akpabio reeled out some 68 projects he has attracted to his district in the past three years as boreholes, market stalls in the 10 local government areas, 274 students on scholarship, who receive at least N100,000 a year,  and a major  road linking the district.

    Governor Emmanuel, while appreciating the people of Ikot Ekpene for his second term endorsement, said the exercise was a show of appreciation, and promised that he will not take it for granted.

    “Let me thank you for this show of love and appreciation. The crowd alone speaks volume. Let also thank you today for endorsing me for a second term. This a show love; this is a show of welcome to an law from ikot Ekpene senatorial district.

    “Let also thank the national working committee. Once the party has spoken, it stands. Today the party has spoken for myself and then for the senate minority leader representing Ikot Ekpene senatorial district that the two of us should go unopposed,” the governor said.

    He lamented that it is only in Akwa Ibom that a state government will build 26-kilometre of dual carriage way and people will still ask what the government has done with the state’s fund.

    The chairman of the occasion, Chief Chris Ekpenyong said they decided to endorse Akpabio and Udom for a second term so that they would show the state who to support during the presidential primaries of the PDP.

    Speaking specifically to the  governor, Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor, applauded the industrial initiative of the governor but pleaded that such projects as rice mill, oil palm mill  and others should be established in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district.

  • Will Akpabio prove pundits wrong?

    The marks of a true leader, among others, include the ability to develop subordinates that could take up leadership positions be it in industry, politics or management.  This underscores the relevance of mentoring in every aspect of life. It is generally assumed that people that have the advantage of being guided, encouraged and supported by trusted and experienced mentors usually excel and perform better either in the workplace or any other endeavour. This is understandable. Apart from the knowledge and skills that mentees could learn from their mentors, mentoring often enhances professional socialization and provides personal support that ultimately brings the best out of the mentees, making them to excel beyond the ordinary.

    Give it to good leaders; they see beyond what others can see in people. They spot opportunities. They can easily recognize potential. They see the future that others can’t see and in many cases, they are right.   They have a nose for identifying people with leadership qualities and as Mel Lawrenz puts it, they don’t only motivate people by their knowledge of the future, but by their anticipation of what is possible.  They are driven by strong convictions that the people they have identified as possessing leadership qualities can deliver and,   provide a new lease of life for others.   Some of them don’t just have a concrete vision, they define the vision in detail and provide the means of attaining it in details even for generations yet unborn.

    Many have said it again and again that the bane of governance in Nigeria is poor leadership. It’s unfortunate that the crops of leadership produced by the nation’s late elder statesmen are fast disappearing.  The few successful leaders of today have a long task before them to sustain quality leadership.  This is more so because there is no formal training centre for political leadership in the country for now.  While the nation’s civil service has a training ground where civil servants can be mentored and taught the act of governance, there is basically no formal training or mentoring scheme for political leadership in the country. This is probably one of the reasons we have people contesting for positions they know nothing about and get elected into positions they don’t understand. We then find elected officers that spend the better part of their time wobbling and fumbling. By the time they get to understand a bit of the job, another election year has come. If they are fortunate, they are re-elected, if not they lose their seats and the circle continues with the citizenry suffering at the end of the day.

    The spate of bad governance that results from the problem of lack of leadership and effective mentoring  in Nigeria’s political space makes it imperative to acknowledge the foresight of leaders who could recognize leadership potentials in their aides, nurture such and actually go a step further by publicly supporting them for leadership positions. That is one of the reasons why the likes of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be respected by many. He has proved beyond doubt that he is a good leader.  A former governor of Lagos State,  aside  from having the vision of a better Lagos, the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Party was able to identify  people with leadership potentials and supporting them for leadership roles. This has given the state a place of prominence in the comity of states in Nigeria and continued to rub off positively on the former governor.  As a governor, he mapped out the vision for a better Lagos. He rolled out the vision as well as the means of accomplishing it and his successors have continued to stay true to it and Project Lagos has continued to be a case study in development in Nigeria.

    The same scenario is playing out in Akwa Ibom State where the former governor and presently the Senate Minority Leader, Godswill   Akpabio, saw what others didn’t see in the current governor of the state, Udom Emmanuel.  In spite of political bickering and opposition,   the former governor did not only fish out Emmanuel, he identified him as a man fit for the job when he was about to leave the Government House in Uyo.  He must have been interested in finding a man that would be able to push further his laudable goals and vision for a better Akwa Ibom; somebody that would not only keep to the vision but build on whatever his achievements were to take the oil rich state further in its journey to the Promised Land. Akpabio’s administration had left behind it projects like world class hospitals, hotels,  well equipped stadium , Ibom Power Plant, cinema viewing  centres and a gas processing plant to name just a few.

    Expectedly, Emmanuel has not disappointed his political mentor.  An astute banker before Akpabio appointed him as the Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government in 2013, the governor has continued from where his predecessor stopped. His focus has been industrializing the state which hitherto was largely a civil service dominated economy. He had started with a five-point agenda of wealth creation, job creation, poverty alleviation, political and economic inclusiveness as well as infrastructural consolidation and expansion shortly after assuming duty in 2015. Today, the state boasts of the largest syringe manufacturing factory in Africa. This is in less than three years of being in the saddle as the state governor. The state has a thriving pencil and toothpick factory; a starch manufacturing company; palm kernel oil plant; and fertilizer blending factory among others. He is working on flour mills, coconut refinery, Ibom Deep Seaport and Ibom Industrial Park and Jetty. All of these are aside the priority given to the agricultural sector where the government is taking advantage of the abundant rich and natural resources of the state to boost food production. The farmers are not left out.  He established a Special Cocoa Maintenance Scheme (SCMS) to train farmers and youths on pruning/shading management, under- brushing, and tree care by fumigation, all in an effort to improve on farm yields.

    The governor has also given priority to infrastructural development. To his credit, over 1,700 kilometers of roads are being constructed in the state.

    Many analysts are of the view that the governor has justified the confidence reposed in him by his former boss with his modest achievements. But somehow, this has not stopped rumours of real or perceived crack in the relationship of the governor and the senator representing Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.  Rumour mills have continuously alleged that the governor has since lost the support of his former boss, though both the governor and the senator have kept on denying such a rift.  Akpabio must have been inundated with this rumour too and had cause to issue a strong rebuttal sometime ago on the matter.

    In politics, it is not unusual for people to misinterpret moves, statements, comments or actions. Political jobbers say things with or without basis. Indeed it is part of politics for politicians to cook stories that have no substance.  This is the more reason why the senator needs to declare in unambiguous terms his unflinching support for Emmanuel at the campaign rally slated for Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District next Monday. Doing that will achieve two things: It will prove to the world that Akpabio himself, as a true leader, had foresight, and did not make a mistake in his choice of a successor; secondly, publicly acknowledging the achievements of Udom in unmistakable terms at the rally will keep political jobbers out of work once and for all.  With few months to governorship election, Akpabio needs to declare to the opposition in clear terms that there is no crack in the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State. The Ikot Ekpene rally should be a time to pat Emmanuel on the back for a job well done and publicly encourage him to continue to provide even development across the three senatorial districts of the state. This is probably the least Emmanuel would be expecting from a well respected mentor.

     

    • Michael wrote in from dsuccessfactory@gmail.com.