BERNARD TOLANI DADA, examines the powerplay before, during and after the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom State.
Tension has ebbed in Akwa Ibom State as the curtain is drawn to signal the end of the general elections. Although winners have emerged, the losers are taking stock of their performances.
It started with the Presidential and National Assembly elections earlier scheduled for February 16, 2019, but were later shifted by the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, to February 23, for logistics’ reasons.
The oil-rich state of about six million in population with voting strength of a little over two million was listed among the battle ground states.Palpable tension enveloped the polity in the run-up to the polls, with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) angling to seize the state through the use of ‘federal might’.
Much of this became accentuated when the immediate past governor Godswill Akpabio, sacrificed his position as the Senate Minority Leader, to defect to the APC, saying his decision became necessary for Akwa Ibom to be linked to the central politics for more dividends of democracy to thrive.
He alleged that Governor Udom Emmanuel, whom he picked, against all odds, as his successor and single-handedly installed as the fourth civilian governor of the 31-year-old state, was not living up to the expectations of the people.
According to Akpabio, Emmanuel has become one huge headache in the drive towards sustainable development in the state, insisting that the PDP’s order that had existed in the state since the return of democracy in 1999 has become anachronistic and must be altered for a new political order to be dictated by the APC.
To political observers and bookmakers, Akpabio could succeed in his mission to oust his estranged godson, given his political antecedents as a political warlord with his might to pull impossible strings in tandem with his vision.
Apparently relying on assurance from the centre that his quest to enthrone a new political order in the state would be assisted by the deployment of security forces, Akpabio, observers say, had gone to relax, oblivious of the fact that Emmanuel, already pushed to the wall could spring surprises.
To Emmanuel, since Akpabio, the chief architect of his emergence as governor, has chosen to ditch his re-election project, it was time for him to be his man and handed all his affairs and that of the state to God through his divine mandate slogan.
He deployed every available resource on campaigns to the grassroots, whipping lots of sentiments that Akpabio, the APC and the Federal Government were on a mission to forcefully oust him for no just reason.
“We have done over 1,700 km of roads, built 15 industries, empowered the youths on agricultural and other vocational skills, provide empowerment, health and free education programmes for our people, yet the opposition say we have not done anything”, Emmanuel lamented.
He rallied elders and supporters of the PDP to be part of the vanguard for his re-election given the fact that at the return of democracy in 1999, the power baton was to revolve around the three Senatorial Districts of Uyo, Ikot Ekpene and Eket, unencumbered.
He recalled that the rotation started with Uyo Senatorial District with Obong Victor Attah, who ruled for eight years (1999-2007), leaving it for Ikot Ekpene with Akpabio, who ran between 2007 and 2015.
The governor, however, took the mantle for Eket, but four years down the line, Akpabio came with a note of change, that Akwa Ibom must be keyed into the central politics as dictated by APC.
The action, taken by Akpabio, without consultations with the elders, stakeholders and electorates of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, angered the people, especially when it was alleged that he declared that “I can stand alone and win my election to the Senate, even without belonging to any political party”.
From this declaration, his kinsmen including the current PDP national legal adviser, Mr. Emmanuel Enoidem; Senator Emmanuel Ibokessien; his brother, Sir Emem Akpabio; his cousin, Prince Ukpong Akpabio and others stakeholders of the PDP, took a resolution to remain with Emmanuel, in PDP.
With the likes of the former minister of state for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator John Udoedehe; President Buhari’s Aide on Senate Matters, Senator Ita Enang; former minister of Petroleum, Atuekong Don Etiebet and others, Akpabio thought it would be a smooth ride to the Government House, for the APC.
Campaigns of intimidation and blackmail became the order of the day, as both sides resorted to fire acerbic political salvos at each other.
Close to the polls, the APC orchestrated another round of attacks on the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Mike Igini, alleging he was compromised and would not conduct elections that would be free, fair and transparent.
For this, the youth’s leader of APC in the state, Comrade Stephen Udo Ntukekpo, had to rally youths all over the state in mass protest to the INEC office, along Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo, seeking the redeployment of Igini.
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Some of the placards read: “The REC is working for gov Emmanuel and PDP”; “We have no confidence in Igini”; “Igini must go”; “We will resist any result of elections conducted by Igini”.
But Igini stood his ground, saying “nobody can remove me because I have not compromised. I did not take bribe from anybody because I came to Akwa Ibom to count votes and not money.
“Whether there is federal or state might, I will make sure your votes count”, he reassured.
Henceforth, the battle line was drawn between Akpabio and his estranged godson, Emmanuel, for the epic battle for the soul of Akwa Ibom.
And when the die was finally cast, the first acid test was the Presidential and National Assembly elections, which the PDP won 100 percent, returning the three PDP Senators and 10 House of Representatives members.
In the Presidential elections, Buhari won about 31 percent, having secured victory in only two Local Government Areas (Essien Udim and Mbo) out of the 31 Local Government Areas.
Shell shocked, Akpabio and his men had to immediately disown and condemn the results, alleging widespread malpractices by the PDP working in collusion with Igini’s INEC.
That Akpabio also lost in the contest was a more shocking development that sent fears and tension down the spines of Akwa Ibom people, even in the diaspora.
To ensure the direction of victory is altered and rail-roaded along the line of APC, the next governorship and State Assembly polls came with a more killing bite as Emmanuel resoundingly won in 30 out of the 31 Councils, leaving only Akpabio’s Essien Udim for APC.
Before the polls, Akpabio had sworn that “Akwa Ibom will be the first state to fall to APC within just three hours of voting, but the tide changed and put the former governor in a position of struggling to even grab his Local Government and calling on everybody for help”, noted Chief Udotong Archibong, a PDP chieftain in Oruk Anam.
According to him, “the lesson to be learnt in this matter is that no matter how powerful, influential and highly placed you may be, you can never be greater than your people.
“Akpabio played god and arrogated all the powers to him. His desperation to remove Governor Emmanuel pushed him to forget he was also in the race to return to the Senate.
“He abandoned his personal campaign and was preaching the gospel of removing Emmanuel for the former NDDC Managing Director, Obong Nsima Ekere, and he ended up shooting himself in the foot.
“It was a political miscalculation that will remain as a stubborn in the annal of Akwa Ibom history and Akpabio’s political lexicon”, he noted.
The People’s Democratic Party, Akwa Ibom State chapter has attributed the massive failure of the All Progressives Congress in the state to the failure to prepare for elections.
The PDP said its opponent, while others were preparing, rather devoted its effort into plotting federal might backed rigging’ and how to hire armed thugs and militants to unleash mayhem on the innocent electorates and INEC officials as played out during the elections.
To add more salt to injury his kinsmen have organised press conference and solidarity rally in support of the elected governor Udom Emmanuel to show solidarity for his administration.
At a press briefing in Uyo Prince Ukpong Akpabio(cousin of senator Akpabio) have accused the former senate minority leader, of unleashing violence and terror on them during the last governorship and state Assembly election in the state.
In a communiqué signed by the stakeholders and leaders and read by Barr Imo-owo Okpokpo, the Essien udim people condemned in strong terms the various electoral offenses and irregularities masterminded and perpetrated by Senator Godswill Akpabio and his cohorts in which almost all the election process in the area was marred.
The stakeholders and leaders of Essien udim maintained that in units where election was duly conducted, PDP won overwhelmingly and they have their result sheets intact describing any other result as fake and do not represent the votes of the electorates of Essien udim local government area.
The Essien Udim people used the forum to admonish Senator Godswill Akpabio to desist from further advertising of “his declining and dwindling political status through various press interviews as such will continue to deepen his failing image. we have totally rejected by him as a people”.
However, as the new phase of agitation opens at the tribunal which will eventually move to the regular courts, for final determination of all post-election issues, stakeholders, elders, youths and Christian community have sued for peace.
“Akpabio should congratulate Emmanuel and the governor should accept his hands of fellowship for the state to grow”, Hon. Al-Mustapher Edoho, President of coalition Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Akwa Ibom state, sued in a statement in Uyo.
The governor has also extended a hand of fellowship to the losers in the elections to join hands with his administration and move Akwa Ibom forward.
