DESPITE the refusal of the rumoured defection of Akwa-Ibom Governor, Udom Emmanuel to go away, the Ibom Patriots, a team of top class professionals in the state has declared that the Governor was not about to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress(APC).
Chancellor of the group, Obong Bassey Inuayen, who stated this in an interview said that those planning to lure the Governor out of the PDP were hallucinating.
He said: “We have read the rumour that Deacon Udom Emmanuel plans to defect to APC. We believe those peddling the rumours are hallucinating. Is it possible for a sane person to leave a comfortable house for a dilapidated building?”
He stated further that stakeholders in the forum he leads met with the Governor last week and that he told them he was not defection.
“Last week, stakeholders from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District met with Governor Udom Emmanuel and he said emphatically that he had no plans to defect to the APC. In the meeting that the governor had with most of us from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, the governor said that he would rather go home and rest, instead of defecting to APC. Governor Udom’s body language is not that of a man who wants to dump PDP for APC.
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“As far as we know, Governor Udom Emmanuel is not defecting to the APC. The day he is defecting, the Patriots will let you know. But for now, there is no such consideration,” Inuayen stated.
Despite persistent denials, the rumoured defection of the Akwa-Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel Udom, from the PDP to the APC has continued to gain ground in the state.
Notwithstanding the spirited denials, formal and informal discussions in the state are being dominated by reports of Udom’s imminent defection.
Coming on the heels of last week’s defection of his political godfather and Senate Minority Leader, Obong Godswill Akpabio to the
APC, those planning the defection are said to be planning to rock the oil-rich state.
It was gathered that they have been mounting pressure on the Governor to actualise the defection.
But groups including the Ibom Patriots, league of former governorship aspirants, and other leading political and opinion leaders are said to be resisting the moves.
The Ibom Patriots, which is leading the resistance has as its members, the immediate past Commissioner for Transport, Dr Godwin Ntukude,Chairman of Ibom Power, Engr Etido Inyang, the State Commissioner for Environment ,Dr Eniobong Essien, Special Adviser, Bureau of Political and Legislative Affairs, Barrister Ekong Sampson, Rt Hon Usenebong Akpabio, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Prof (Mrs) Comfort Ekpo, Rt Hon Eno Akpan, former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Ekpenyong Ntekim, Arc. Okon Emah, among several notable PDP bigwigs.
The Patriots rose from a meeting in Uyo at the weekend to declare its opposition to the rumoured defection, insisting that the said
defection plans were “impracticable.”
Those opposed to the defection rumour said that in 2016, similar rumour was rife in the state but that it came to nought.
Commissioner for Works and a close associate of the governor, Akparawa Ephraim Inyang- Eyen had then debunked the rumour saying “ Now, saying that Governor Udom will defect to the APC in his second term, I think is a conjecture and let me sound it very clearly, the governor is a man of character and principles. He is not one of those politicians who would want to jump all over the place because of what they think they could get.
The time to have done that could have been when the system was trying to hold him to ransom and not now that he has performed and Akwa-Ibom people are happy. A political platform is just a platform, but the critical thing is the candidate. Udom won election beyond political platform and given his performance, platform for his second term will not be too relevant.”
Reports, however, indicate that PDP stakeholders in the state appear unfazed by the persistent rumour.
Stakeholders in the PDP are of the view that “the state is a PDP state and the party will retain the state.”
A source close to the PDP said that the party would resist any plans by the Governor to defect.
A source at the state secretariat said: “We won’t allow it and if he insists on going, we will not follow him. This state has been a PDP state since the inception of this democracy in 1998. We are talking and we believe that at the end of the day the governor’s fears which are propelling the planned move will be allayed.” The source stated that the governor may not have x-rayed the far-reaching implications of his exit from the party to the APC and hopes that current efforts at engagement with him will yield fruits.
It was learnt that prominent religious and traditional leaders in the state are making efforts to meet with the governor on the issue and seek proper understanding of it.
The leaders, it was also learnt would intimate him of possible “explosive landmines that the defection may cause to the peace and
harmony which is currently enjoyed in the state and encourage him to step over the temptation and be his own man, now that his political godfather, Senator Godswill Akpabio has let him off the hook.”
Sources said that in the APC, where the Governor may be planning to join, his defection may not enjoy the same treatment as that his predecessor in office, Senator Akpabio.
According to sources, stakeholders in the APC in the state are already apprehensive that the Governor’s planned entry might rock their chances.
A leader in the party who prefers anonymity said: “What is he coming to do here at this time? Is it to upset the hard work we have put into making the party wholly acceptable to Akwa-Ibomites or is he coming with baggage.
“Everywhere you go in the state you hear about and see his poor performance in office despite the huge revenue allocations to the
state. Is that the image he is bringing to the party?”
Senator Anietie Okon, however, described the defection rumour as the handiwork of “those who have misstepped and overrated themselves.”
“They are finding a way to dig back and be relevant,” he explained, adding that the former Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio cannot be applauded for defecting to the APC.
He said the action was actually taken by Akpabio to “save himself.”
He said: “ He (Akpabio) sees himself as the standard here and has since realized that he is not because nobody is going there with him. He promised them so many things that will happen to the state if he defects, but he is surprised that the tsunami he promised is not happening, hence they hatched this rumour. It is an act of treachery.
Another chieftain of the APC in the state, Hon Ita Awak described the rumour as baseless because according to him, it was already denied by the Governor.
He said: “If he is honourable, what he has denied should stand. If not so, then, that tells you about the character of such a person.
“Let us say that he’ll not defect. When we get our candidate we will beat them silly. He should be a man of character and remain in his party. We look forward to meeting them in Phillipi.”
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