BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
Governor Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom state is no doubt enamoured by the affection of people of his state to give him another opportunity to serve.
In his address after taking the oath of office for the second time in Uyo, capital of the state, he said “Today, I stand here humbled by the love you have shown me, eternally grateful for the belief you have expressed in my leadership qualities, inspired and propelled by the faith and the conviction you have reposed in my humble capacity to continue to pilot the affairs of Akwa Ibom.”
The governor is perhaps convinced that without the popular support he got from the electorate , it would have been impossible for him to scale the huddles erected by the insistence of Godswill Akpabio,his erstwhile godfather that he would not run for second term.
The campaigns were fierce and there were fears that the combination of Akpabio and the party at the center, the All Progressives Congress, APC the chances of getting re-elected was slim. Those who assumed that he would not make it had reasons to make that assumption.
Akpabio was a very influential politician who after leaving office as governor took a seat in the Senate. He it was who stood behind Udom for his election to office in 2015. He also remained a force behind the governor for some time after his first inauguration. But they fell apart so early in the day when it appeared the new governor then wanted to be his own man. That was when Akpabio started to make public statements to the effect that the man he brought into government was running the show without his input.
So the campaign against Udom started so very early enough for the former governor to do a lot of damage. Now when the real electioneering campaigns started Akpabio returned home from Abuja in grand style. First, he made a popular show of resigning his appointment on the floor of the Senate as minority leader, perhaps to spite the leadership of the Senate that left the APC without stepping down as principal officers in the chamber. Then he led the powerful campaign team of president Muhammadu Buhari to the state. Not only that the president was in the state to campaign, the ruling party did the flag off of its campaign in the state.
Thus the fear that Akpabio’s influence combined with Federal might would deny Udom a second chance. But he got the chance, which he has now dedicated to the people.
