Political foes of the outgoing governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Godswill Akpabio have many reasons for the beef they hold against him. But their disunity is a common problem
By: Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo
IN the past one month the Akwa Ibom state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC has been enmeshed in an internal crisis that appears to be tearing the party apart.
Not too long ago, a leadership crisis arising from the merger of the three legacy parties that formed the APC surfaced but that was quickly solved by party elders from within and outside the state.
That crisis arose from mutterings that members of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria ACN, took over almost all the positions in the new party from the ward level to the state executive.
Oyinlola
But Vanguard investigations revealed that the new challenge stems from alleged misgivings over the general direction of the party in the state and struggle for dominance by a section of the party.
It was gathered that majority of the chapter chairmen and state officers had during one of the state executive meetings few months ago come up with the decision that the party should be opened up for interested aspirants vying for either state and National Assembly seats and even governorship position to come in.
But it appeared that the decision did not sit well with some of the leaders who perceived it as a move to frustrate their ambitions of contesting elective positions in the coming elections.
Gubernatorial candidate
Some party members have pointed at the ACN 2011 gubernatorial candidate and APC leader, Senator John AkpanUdodehe as one of those who could benefit from closing the party to new entrants and it is a development that has apparently polarised the party into two.
That struggle inevitably led to the suspension of the 22 local government chairmen and 10 state officers of the party.
Those suspended it is also alleged are working in cahoots with dissidents in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP who it is believed would want to move over to the APC for the purpose of actualising their ambitions of stopping Governor Godswill Akpabio’s plans of a smooth transition to a supposedly handpicked successor.
Remarkably, the anti-Akpabio elements are no pushovers and hence the supposed panic in the midst of the APC.
Among those it is alleged may move over to the APC in pursuit of a platform to fight Akpabio are Dr. Ime Umana, former SSG, Umana Okon Umana, Effiong Abia former commissioner for local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Senator Aloysius Etok representing Ikot Ekpene senatorial district among many others.
However the Chief publicist and Director of Research and Publicity to Umana Okon Umana Mr. Ita Awak when contacted said he was not aware of any such plot adding that there was no reason for Umana to defect to another party when he has all the assurance of picking the PDP ticket.
“As the Chief Publicist I am telling you that there is no such thing as far as Umana Okon Umana is concerned. We do not have any such plan because we are confident that the vast majority of enlightened PDP delegates who are going to participate in the governorship primaries will give Umana Okon Umana the ticket.However Akpabio appears not to be unaware about the serious gang up against his quest to produce a successor and is also believed to be moving to checkmate the plans of his political rivals.
Contacted on the development, the APC state Publicity Secretary Mr. Samuel Udobong who is among those allegedly suspended, said, “First of all let me point out that I am not aware of being suspended as being reported in the media. On the issue about opening up the party to allow other political aspirants come into the party is true.”
“But I want to say that I don’t see anything wrong why the party should be opened up. This is because we believe that only one person cannot finance the party and therefore we must need financiers to properly position APC in Akwa Ibom State in preparation for the election. We don’t want a situation where people see APC as a one man show.”
“All these happenings are distractions by a cabal in the party working against the overall interest of the party but we are hoping that everything will be okay very soon. I am also telling you that up till now the APC is still seen as one family except for a few who are attempting to form a cabal and bring the party into disarray, but we are not going to allow that to happen”, he said.
Meanwhile, anger directed against the state party chairman, Amadu Attai has been further fuelled following the refusal to rescind the suspension order on the 22 local government chairmen.
Contacted on the development, former military administrator of rtd Capt Sam Enwang who is also member Board of Trustees, of APC described the lingering leadership crisis in Akwa Ibom APC as the consequence of one man and his cronies hijacking the party.
He, however, assured that the National leadership of the party was working towards bringing to an end the leadership tussle saying, “and nobody has been suspended in the party in Akwa Ibom because the national leadership views whatever process used as unacceptable”.
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