Udom leading political forces against his godfather
BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
Emmanuel Udom, governor of Akwa Ibom State on Friday at a rally in Uyo, the state capital made an official declaration for second term in office. He spoke to the teeming crowd at the rally of his service to them in the past three years in the saddle. He said, “I have been a Servant-leader which I had promised you. I have maintained peace in Akwa Ibom State and brought about civility in our engagements. I hereby submit myself to complete the Divine Mission which you had first sent me to accomplish in 2015. ”
His is the second major political rally in the state within the month. The first was by Godswill Akpabio, former governor and his estranged godfather. Akpabio at his rally took a decision to defect from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC. The former governor ruled the state for two terms of eight years on the platform of PDP. He also won election to the Senate to represent his senatorial constituency. While there he was appointed the senate minority leader by his former party.
The emergence of Udom as candidates date of the party for the 2015 election was made possible by the force of the leadership of the party at the state level by Akpabio. The issue created some schism within the party then ending in the parting of ways between Akpabio and some of his associates including the then secretary to the state government. But the conflict between Akpabio and Udom became apparent early in the day when the new governor complained that he was being pressured to do things the way of his predecessor.
Shortly after the defection of Akpabio , there were speculations that Udom was about to go to the APC with his former benefactor, but the rumours was immediately dispelled. Akpabio who also resigned his appointment as minority leader of the PDP in the Senate , had made a mock apology to people of the state for “imposing” Udom on them.
There had been a frosty relationship which came to the fore between The Godfather and the godson last December, as Akpabio compalined that the incumbent governor had neglected certain parts of the state in his development plans.
The suspicion was also that certain forces wanted to blackmail Udom to succumb to pressure to decamp to the APC, along with his benefactor. Those who say this cited the reported freezing of the Akwa Ibom state government accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC hours after Akpabio moved into APC. With his declaration for second term still on the platform of the PDP, the battle line for the 2019 election appears drawn.
