2019 elections may tear Akpabio, Gov Emmanuel apart

Indication that the 2019 general elections may tear former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio and his successor, incumbent Governor Udom Emmanuel has emerged.

The former governor and current Senate Minority Leader, has clearly stated that the only condition under which he will support Udom for second term, would be if the apparent marginalization of his senatorial district was addressed.

The Senator who bared his mind when he spoke at an annual get-together organized by the deputy governor, Chief Moses Ekpo, to fete the people of Ikot Ekpene senatorial district, went further to warn that the era of ‘carry-go’ politics was gone, calling on the state governor to address the big task head-on.

He said, “2018 is less than one year to election, all is not well, don’t allow anybody to deceive you that all is well. If the hotel in Ikot Ekpene rots after so much money had been expended on the project, would that be a good thing? That road from Uyo to Ikot Ekpene, is still the way it was. In the 2018 budget, what is the percentage for Ikot Ekpene senatorial district?

“My job is to say the truth because if at this level I cannot say the truth, then I am not doing well. So please I want us to start the hotel because when the Commissioner for Works addressed the youths in August, he assured them that the hotel would be opened in December. Please let us check the budget to know what has been earmarked for that place. I am not interested in what I did and what I did not do, I am only interested in what I am going to do.

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“The truth is that Godswill Akpabio expects us to set our path straight so that we can take one route. Even when you are going for communion, you must be in a state of grace, so let us have something from the senatorial district to use in talking about election; to use in convincing the people to stand by us. We are in opposition, we don’t have government, we don’t have Police, we don’t have INEC.”

There are widely held views that Governor Emmanuel was installed by Akpabio as his successor in 2015.

Meanwhile, in an apparent response to the development, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh, has said, “Let us bury our political differences and unite in love for governor Udom Emmanuel to build a state we will all be proud of. Akwa Ibom belongs to all of us, the governor is poised to ensure sustainable development for the state and the people that will outlive this administration.”

 

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