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- It is already in the public domain that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won the governorship election in Akwa Ibom State.
The party’s standard bearer, Udom Emmanuel was re-elected for a second term that will keep him in office till 2023. It is also a common knowledge that Governor Emmanuel was re-elected without the support and backing of his erstwhile godfather, Godswill Akpabio who had defected from PDP to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) in August last year.
Akpabio, the former Senate Minority leader had boasted that APC would sweep the polls in Akwa Ibom State and that the presidential election which was held on February 23 would be concluded within three hours.
He emphatically boasted that Governor Emmanuel would be a loner in the governor’s office by December 2018 following his ‘uncommon defection’ to the APC.
All that is now history as Udom did not only win the governorship election but Akpabio who was regarded as the godfather of Akwa Ibom State politics failed in his bid to return to the Senate to represent Akwa Ibom North West senatorial district.
The significance of this is that Udom has broken loose from the shackles of being dictated upon on what to do and how to govern Akwa Ibom State.
It was widely alleged that he was taking instructions from the former Senate Minority leader who was also governor of the state between 2007 and 2015.
In fact, it was widely believed in many quarters that Udom shielded Akpabio from being harassed and prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission.
The interest of the security agencies in having the former governor prosecuted was such that soon after Udom came into office in 2015, operatives of the Department of State Services raided the governor’s office searching for whatever items.
Since then, the state government had dragged the EFCC before a High court in the state challenging the authority of the commission to investigate the accounts of the state government during the tenure of the former governor.
All these were done apparently to protect the former governor who after he had supported Udom to be elected in 2015, turned his back on him in 2019. Though it is said that there is no permanent enemy in politics but permanent interest, Udom and Akpabio for now may be not seeing eye-to-to eye politically, but who knows, two of them might find themselves in the same political platform.
However, the political differences between the godson and the godfather has allowed Udom, the godson to have a free hand in the selection of the members of state executive council, a development which observers say I good for the development of the state.
Also, it might be the first time in the history of the state that the governor would not need to seek the opinion of a godfather on who should be included in the state executive council and this would give him the power to hire and fire without any hesitation. For Akpabio who has been in the employ of the state government for more 15 years first as a member of the state executive council.
Last year, before the former Senate Minority leader jumped ship, a commissioner in Akwa Ibom State was sacked on the orders of the former governor for allegedly not giving respect to the former governor. The commissioner has since been recalled and has been working as the governor’s right hand man since then.
Insiders have revealed that the governor being a technocrat would carefully select his commissioners and special advisers maintaining that this would be the first time the governor would be seen in his elements.
“Thos who worked for the governor are known and they know themselves. Those who did not work for the governor’s re-election cannot pretend, they were all seen by the people. What is clear now will be the governor would reward those who worked for him and nothing else,’’ an insider said.
What this means, according to analyst is that many of the commissioners who are currently serving as members of the state executive council might likely not return when the new cabinet is inaugurated in June this year.
Udom having won the re-election campaign with the slogan ‘Only God’, seems to be under pressure by the people given the support he received to deliver on his campaign promises.
So far, there are indications his “completion agenda” seems to be on course as the state government has been able to attract 15 industrial firms to the state and the number is still growing.
Gabriel Ukpeh, chairman of the state owned Foreign Direct Investment Committee believes that Akwa is on course to be an industrial hub following the growing number of firms attracted to the state.
“Investors have confidence in the state government before they even think of investing in the state because no investor will like to put his money where he is not sure of getting his money back,” he said.
Many observers believe that if the governor would be able to implement his ‘completion agenda’ as he had promised during his campaigns, it would be possible to think that he would continue to enjoy the support of the people endlessly. This they said would have put to an end the over-bearing issue of godfatherism in the state.
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo
