Akwa Ibom State stakeholders are divided over the sacking of former Secretary to Government (SSG) Umana Okon Umana by Governor Godswill Akpabio. While some people hail the action, others claimed that it smacks of dictatorship. Correspondent KAZEEM IBRAHYM reports.
The removal of the State Secretary to the Government (SSG) of Akwa Ibom State, Umana Okon Umana, by Governor Godswill Akpabio has continued to generate ripples in the the state. Umana was kicked out of office on July 29. He was on an official duty in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) when security operatives stormed his office and ordered the workers to vacate the premises before sealing it off.
Umana and Akpabio have a long history of friendship dating back to when former Governor Victor Attah was in the saddle. Both men served in the Attah Administration. Umana was the Commissioner for Finance. Akpabio was commissioner in three ministries – Petroleum Resources, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and Lands and Housing.
When Akpabio indicated interest in the 2007 governorship election, he resigned his office to focus on his ambition. Attah was also positioning his son in-law, Dr. Bob Ekarika, who was the Commissioner for Health, to take over from him. It was an open secret in the state that Attah was not interested in the candidacy of Akpabio. However, Akpabio was able to exploit the frosty relationship between Attah and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He warmed his way into President Obasanjo’s heart and mobilised the support of major stakeholders in the state. It was easy for him to get Obasanjo’s consent during his face-off with Attah over the explosive issue of resource control. Attah and the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, and his Bayelsa counterpart, Chief Diepreyei Alamamieseigha, were the arrow heads of the Southsouth’s agitation for resource control at the time. It was an agitation that Obasanjo was never comfortable with.
It was at that time that Umana, a man with a deep pocket, supported Akpabio. He was one of the few aides of Attah, who stood by Akpabio and assisted him to secure the governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) . He was said to be a major factor in rallying the Ibibio to support Akpabio’s ambition. He emerged, ahead 56 other aspirants during the PDP primaries, and went ahead to win the governorship election.
As a compensation for the various roles he played before and during the election, Umana was appointed as the Secretary to State Government. He held the office for six years before his unceremonious removal. During his time as the SSG, Umana was always described as the ‘brain box’ of the administration. He determined who gets what in the government. It is either you are his friend or you are thrown out of the government.
While many Nigerians have condemned the way Umana was sacked, others believe that the governor has the right to hire and fire. One of those in support of Umana’s removal was the former Commissioner for Economic Development, Jerry Akpan, who also served in the Akpabio Administration. He said the governor has done no wrong in removing him.
Akpan, who is also a former Special Adviser on Political and Legislative Matters to Akpabio, explained that the removal has provided a level playing ground for the governorship aspirants. He pointed out that the former SSG was using his office to full advantage, to the detriment of other contenders. “It is possible that, like I have read in the newspapers, the declaration of the former SSG triggered-off the action of the governor. No one should blame the governor. If the governor had allowed him to continue, I don’t think it would have augured well for his administration. Apart from that, I think it is even better for the former , if truly he wants to contest as the governor of the state in 2015. It would give him an ample opportunity to move round the state, do his consultations without any fear of any kind.
“So, I think that the arrangement is a perfect arrangement. The governor is a man that you cannot predict. It is even better to enable Umana to go out and canvass for the support of the electorate, because asking someone to resign is not bad.
Akpan said that the constitution enjoins aspirants in government to to resign from office, ahead of the electioneering.
“We all know that from all intents and purposes, at that time the former SSG was seen as the governor of the state. As at that time, the former SSG was seen as a man that has been anointed to takeover from Akpabio. As at that time, there was no level playing ground provided by this administration. But the sacking of Umana has provided a level playing ground for every other Akwa Ibom person to come into the 2015 governorship race, otherwise he was using his office at the detriment of others”, he stressed.
However, the Media Adviser to the former SSG, Iboro Otongaran, claimed that his boss publicly declared his intention to contest the 2015 governorship. He challenged anybody with the evidence of such declaration and electoral campaigns, including video clips, texts of speeches and others to provide it.
“The claim that Mr. Umana Okon Umana, the former Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, had publicly declared his intention to run for governor in 2015 and commenced his election campaigns is untrue and misleading, and it can only help to reinforce a falsehood earlier planted in the media by mischief makers, if it is not challenged.
“Umana made no formal public declaration to run for the office of governor and did not start any election campaigns. The hype built around the so-called declaration was nothing more than the regular rumour peddled by mischief mongers. Any position to the contrary must be supported by evidence of such declaration and electoral campaigns, such as video clips or texts of speeches or a list of attendance by journalists at the declaration ceremony.
“It is instructive to note that, unlike all previous press statements from Umana, which he either signed himself or were signed by his media adviser, Iboro Otongaran, this so-called gubernatorial declaration was not signed by anybody. If anyone has any evidence that contradicts this position, let the person make it public.
“We wish to also note that the press has been feasting on the stories of possible aspirations by politicians, not just in Akwa Ibom State, but all over the country, though in this instant case, it was not just a case of media obsession, it was obviously a case of a planted story for the purpose of a witch hunt. The purported public declaration story was planted, not only to embarrass, but ultimately, to discredit the former SSG”, he added.
However, the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, argued that it was the prerogative of the governor to appoint and make changes in his cabinet.
“Following the declaration of Mr. Umana’s gubernatorial ambition for the 2015 election and the commencement of campaigns, as widely reported in the media on July 25, 2013, and his non-rebuttal of same, Governor Akpabio sought advice from relevant electoral and constitutional experts. He was advised that he was duty bound by his oath of office to defend the constitution, which includes the provisions of the Electoral Act, which forbid public officers from declaring for electoral office while still in office. He consequently, requested for Mr. Umana’s resignation to enable him pursue his stated interest in the 2015 governorship election.” he said.
For Sylvester Nyong and Victor Usoro, who are company executives in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State, the governor has harsh on the former SSG.
To them, it is only in Akwa Ibom State that the governor had resorted to gangster methods to prevent the legitimate political ambition of citizens. Nyong said: “We therefore, vehemently disagree with Chief Akpabio’s reason that Mr. Umana Umana was humiliated out of office because he had allegedly expressed his political intention. Rather, Umana’s ill-treatment is a premeditated political persecution meant to scuttle his political ambition, instill fears in other aspirants and pave the way for Akpabio’s goal, which is to plant a stooge as a successor.
“The stooge will do the bidding of Chief Akpabio, render financial returns to him and be beholden to him as the godfather. In other words, together with his siblings and wife, the governor wants to establish the Akpabio Dynasty to which their puppet-governor would report and render financial and other benefits long after in the post-Akpabio period”.
Nyong and Usoro cited the examples of politicians that are already making arrangements to contest the next governorship election at the federal level. They pointed out that the Minister of Niger Delta Affiars, Godsday Orubebe, had announced in that he would contest for the Delta State in 2015, adding that President Goodluck has not asked him to resign.
“Senator Ganiyu Solomon had also indicated interest to contest the governorship of Lagos State. The Senate President and Governor Babatunde Fashola have not humiliated them publicly. Even, the Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, announced his intention to run for the governor of Ekiti State. It is only in Akwa Ibom State that Chief Akpabio had resorted to gangster methods to abort a legitimate political ambition of a citizen”, he said.
These claims, however, have not gone unchallenged. Other indigenes of the state, who spoke in defence of Akpabio, pointed out that the former SSG had used his position in the past 10 years to ensure that no Ibibio son or daughter, other than himself, stood a fair chance of getting the PDP ticket for the 2015 governorship election.
Ofonime Ebong and Idara Ntuen, who are Uyo-based company executives, advised the people not listen to politicians who are wiping ethnic senstiments, adding that Umana cannot be in public office for ever.
To them, Umana was the crafty mastermind that plotted the removal of his kinsmen, the former deputy governor, who had nursed a governorship ambition, from the position of deputy governor, to pave the way for himself. They said the plot to discredit the Akpabio Administration will fail.
Umana has maintained absolute silence. His next line of action is not known. It is clear thyat the governor does not want him to succeed him. But Umana’s associates have said that he has a governorship ambition. Will the former SSG chicken out? Will he stick to his ambition? Time will tell.
