Former House of Representatives member Hon. Eseme Eyiboh has explained that he left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) because the former ruling party deviated from the vision of its founding fathers.
The politician, who represented Eket/Onna/Esit Eket/Ibeno Constituency, Akwa Ibom State, was the spokesman of the Lower Chamber, where he became famous for his intellectual depth as the arrowhead of a group, ‘The Initiatives,’ a discussion platform for likeminded legislators.
Following his defection, he had to contend with harassment and blackmail by some top politicians in the Southsouth state, who thought that he would contest the governorship last year.
As a lawmaker, Eyiboh enjoyed visibility. Thus, when the agitation for power shift to Eket Senatorial District gathered momentum in the PDP, his foes thought that he would become the beneficiary. His political career suffered a setback when he was denied the second term ticket for the House of Representatives. Although he did not leave the PDP during the electioneering, he endorsed the opposition by credible PDP leaders against the imposition of the governorship candidate.
Prominent chieftains who attempted to resist the imposition included Umana Umana, Former Governor Godswill Akpabio’s former right-hand man, former Governor Victor Attah and former Petroleum Minister Chief Don Etiebet.
Ahead of last year’s polls, Umana defected to the APC along with Senator Ita Enang, whose second term bid for the Senate was also aborted after the primaries. While Umana and Enang became the pillars of the APC in Uyo Senatorial District, the Etiebet brothers, Donatus and Donald opposed the PDP’s hegemony in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. However, last week, Eyiboh’s defection to the APC led to the decimation of the party in Eket District.
Giving reasons for deserting the PDP, he said: “Having had the privilege of the membership of Peoples Democratic Party, which platform I became its State Financial Secretary, Executive Chairman, Akwa Ibom Ethical and Attitudinal Reorientation Commission(EARCOM)and later, member of the House of Representatives, I can speak about the vision of the progenitors of PDP as a leadership recruitment nursery.
“Today, that party has conducted itself in breach of the visionary philosophy of its founding fathers. Instead of its intended leadership nursery guided by the principle of social justice and a platform to promote content analysis of its manifesto and implementation strategies of its programmes to government as an enabler for good governance, it has rather, thrown up economic choristers and social misdemeanours, who have converted our common wealth into private franchise, thus turning the party and the state into ‘behemoth of monstrous proportion.’
Eyiboh lamented that the PDP has produced a crop of ‘political dealers,’ instead of inspirational leaders, adding that the derailment of the vision had led to increasing deficits in revenue yielding assets and sundry incentives to trigger community growth and prosperity.
He added: “It is worthy to note that, as the reign of development eclipse, poor ethical integrity and deteriorating institutions subsists, it is imperative for people with development orientation and appropriate mindset to come together and inject a “new deal” to stimulate the collective urges and aspirations of our people with functional confidence.
“I have, therefore, taken the hard choice of resignation from Peoples Democratic Party and in preference for the platform of All Progressive Congress, where I hope to further my contributions to the development of the state and Nigeria.”{
Eyiboh said the APC has met his aspiration as an untainted platform. He said: “My decision is predicated upon the sufficiently persuaded presence of mind, ideas, capacity and character that abound in APC to drive sustainable change that will enhance the emergence of contemporary and knowledge based social capital and new economic order.”
But, can Eyiboh and his co-travelers and defectors cut the wings of the PDP in Akwa Ibom? Time will tell.