Ini Okopido, The Real Problem Of Akwa Ibom APC
By UbongAbasi Ise
The
Yours truly was a witness when Mr. Ini Okopido was
swearing-in the state executive council of the APC at Sheergrace Arena in Uyo
on 20th May, 2018. It was a drizzling night; Okopido stated categorically
that his most important mission as a new party chairman was to produce an APC
governor at the Hilltop Mansion. He was hinting that he had assured the then
national party chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun that Akwa Ibom would be
snatched from the clutches of PDP by 2019. With all fairness, Ini Okopido was
speaking with all the enthusiasm and fibre of a true radical progressive who
wouldn’t want to be continuing in the regurgitations of old ideas and
practices. The tinge of pragmatism he showed, and confidence he exuded, seemed
to flash a ray of hope for the change-oriented citizens that sought a break
from the stagnated status quo. Ironically, as event unfolded towards the
general elections, the sharp radical edge of a typical opposition party became
gradually blunted under the watch of Ini Okopido, and thereafter all roads lead
to the tribunal.
A handful of things need to be carefully said here. Yes!
Okopido had vowed to deliver Akwa Ibom for the APC. But after the promise, what
happened? What abracadabra did Ini Okopido really enacted in a bid to conquer
the Hilltop Mansion for APC when he practically uses his office to cannibalize
all other positions in the state exco, starving the officials of funds and
necessary resources that could have helped them perform their oversight
functions? Where would the elected staff of the party derive their morale from,
when their Chairman leaves them unpaid for over eight months despite cash
flowing into the party in the heat of the campaigns?
Under okopido’s administration, for instance, the
publicity secretariat is allegedly left with a paltry N150,000 as imprest for
over a year as at May 2019, whereas during Dr. Amadu Attai’s era, the same
secretariat is said to have been enjoying the monthly imprest of N400,000, supported
with press staff and radio retainership programme allowances with total
amounting to about N700,000. During the
electioneering season, the APC media wing would have failed woefully if not for
some individuals that were passionate for progressive change and total
liberation of Akwa Ibom State from the chains of official propaganda. Okopido
was alleged to have discreetly managing his own ineffective media wing,
cornering millions of naira in this regards, while bulk of the publicity job was taking care of
itself and was none of Okopido’s own business.
Again, Okopido has not noticed that the gap he
excavated to demarcate his exalted office from the reach of the common
followers seems too wide. Or has he forgotten that people are the raw material
of politics? And how could a chairman of the party that wants to win the state carry
on with the habit of barring people from having access to him? Is this how to
win by playing ostrich? How could the followers keep faith in a cause when
their leader is not communicating hope and motivation to them? Some APC
faithful who did not want to be mentioned were alleging that why the support
for the APC in the state is losing steam is simply because of the imperious
attitude of Ini Okopido. He should have known that autocratic leadership style
is no longer fashionable in a public space, especially in the political party
where a leader needs to be feeding the led with energizing ideologies. Recently,
a group of party ward chairmen were said to be paying Okopido a visit after
several attempt to see him in the office failed. They wanted to see him and to discuss a way
of resolving the schismatic tension and reviving the soul of the party. As was
alleged, Okopido barred them. Similar thing happened to The Sensor Newspaper team led by the Managing Editor, Mr. Henry
Nkom. After the appointment was fixed with the APC state chairman as
facilitated by one of his aides, Okopido unceremoniously dismissed the media
team at his residence, after they had waited for about five hours for him. He
could have used the opportunity to enliven the hopes of the teeming supporters
as the day of the swearing in ceremony then, was around the corner. He could
have used the chance to react to most of the allegations of certain infractions
levied against him, which altogether pointed to the fact that he was the reason
the APC and its candidates in the state are miserably entrapped in the present
predicament. It was later confirmed by undisclosed source in the party that it
is the usual habit of Okopido to treat members of the press with disdain,
unless there is something he has to gain from meeting them. How bad!
The way a political party conducts its internal
affairs is the exact way it will run governance when given a chance. With Ini
Okopido, the party seems very concerned about the future of the party if given
a chance to take over the state. There was a time the State Working Committee
of the party was allegedly reprimanding Ini Okopido, and he promised to turn a
new leaf. He was reminded that the APC has no tolerance for opaque and
underhand practices. But the chairman remained impervious and it became clear
that a tiger cannot change its own dots. One point to note is that a party that
wants to effect positive change should not, in the first place, sit back and
watch itself being contaminated in the hands of an administrator that has no
single regard for accountability, transparency and openness. Upon all the
pressures, Okopido has not given account on how the party is run since he
assumed leadership of the party in May 2018 according to undisclosed source in
the party. But why is the party that promises a new way of governance condones
all these impunities perpetrated by one man? If the APC does not want to lose
its direction, it is time for the ward executives to come together and revive
the soul of the party, even if it takes to rid the system of Okopido, because
the party’s aspiration is bigger than an individual. The party may not make any
progress in any given elections if it does not solve its fundamental problem
forthwith, and that is to unsaddle Ini Okopido with his present responsibility at
the party. Period.
Today, Akwa Ibom APC supporters are like orphans. The
PDP-led state government has been discriminating against them in their own land,
and Ini Okopido’s leadership on the other hand has not communicated any hope to
them. They seem to lose all they had won in the just concluded elections. Now all
their hopes lie at the distance, when will they ever reach them?
Yes! I am UbongAbasi Ise. For comments, send SMS to 08189914609. Email:
ubongabasiise@gmail.com
©The Sensor Newspaper
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