Essien Udim Will Vote Out Ekpeyong In Rerun - Akpabio's Campaign DG

The Director General of Godswill Akpabio Campaign Organization, Dr. Chris Akpan, says the people of Essien Udim local government area are ready to return their son, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to the Senate through the forthcoming rerun of Akwa Ibom Northwest Senatorial election provided INEC's headquarters in Abuja agrees to Senator Akpabio's terms and conditions, particularly, the redeployment of Mr. Mike Igini, the Akwa Ibom State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC. In this interview with UBONGABASI ISE, our correspondent, Dr. Akpan, who is also the former Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Rural Development, decried how the PDP-controlled state government under Mr. Udom Emmanuel has failed to execute projects in Essien Udim local government for over four years. He declared that any funds the state governor and the PDP would sink into the election in Essien Udim in order to support their candidate will only be a waste. EXCERPT:

How do you welcome the appeal court ruling?

Well, it's a good development, but I wish the court had gone the whole hog by accepting to punish the PDP for numerous infractions of the electoral process and to note the impartiality of the umpire, who is Mr. Mike Igini himself. Most of the things that went wrong in that electoral process were orchestrated by the so-called REC. That is why we are insisting that without he's being relieved from the responsibility of conducting the rerun, being taken away from him and given to somebody else, we will not participate.

In event that Igini is not being removed, and your principal is not participating in the rerun, how do you think the constituents of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District would accept this kind of development?

Well, we have been shortchanged already. If the wishes of the constituents of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District were allowed to stand, of course you know who would have been the Senator. So it is the question of allowing the evil that they did to go down. The constituents had voted massively for Senator Akpabio to go for the second term in the Senate. So this wish of the constituents was thwarted by massive fraud orchestrated by the state government to stop Akpabio and supported by an umpire who should otherwise be neutral. So we are not bothered about that.

Apart from the presence of Mike Igini at INEC, there are speculations at certain quarters that Senator Akpabio  is no longer interested in the rerun, and by extension, the Senate seat, and that he is comfortable with the ministerial job, how true is this?

That question should rather go to the Senator (Akpabio) himself. But I know that I have the instructions to prepare assiduously for rerun if our conditions and terms are met.

So how prepared are you?

We are working and I'm looking up to INEC. The moment we know that Igini and the structures he put in place to frustrate APC are no more there, of course, we will go full swing and prepare for the election as it should be. 

INEC recently said 95,987 out of 105,555 registered voters in Essien Udim are with the PVCs. Considering this number of persons with PVCs, do you think Senator Akpabio would be able to mobilize most of them and garner the needed number of votes to upturn the victory of Senator Chris Ekpeyong?

Why not? People are not happy with what took place. People were satisfied with the representation of Senator Akpabio in the Senate. To that extent, every son and daughter of Essien Udim local government area who is eligible to vote has no other option. In any case, who would they rather vote for? My take is that Akpabio has performed well and it is the wish and the desire of all Essien Udim people to go out and put icing on the cake, and put him back to Senate. 

But some pundits are contending that if Senator Akpabio really wants to contest, he would only do so to prove a point that he actually defeated Senator Chris Ekpeyong. But in an event of failing to reclaim this mandate, what would you think would happen to the political career of Senator Godswill Akpabio?

In what sense? Was he supposed to be in the Senate forever? Of course we have aspirations. We have wishes and areas of political interest. In that way, nothing stops him from going out to get them. Nothing at all. He has to aspire as anyone else, and he has the wherewithal which I'm sure he could go ahead to work and achieve whatever his ambition is. Nothing is going to limit him. Remember President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing of France once. After he lost election and failed to go back as the President, he went back and contested as the councilor and won. He started in council. And when they asked him why, he said he has to be relevant and that he doesn't bother about the level. I'm not saying this would be the case of Godswill Akpabio. What I'm saying is that you have to seek relevance anywhere you deemed fit.

It has also been rumoured that Governor Udom Emmanuel and the PDP have already started to mobilize some people in Essien Udim with about a billion naira for the rerun. If this is true, then it means they have started preparation ahead of you, or have you also gone for the similar strategy?

Whatever funds he thinks he is going to put in Essien Udim will fail. In the first place how many projects has he undertaken in Essien Udim for over four and a half years he has been in government? When it comes to Essien Udim, Udom should tell us what he has done for Essien Udim first. So if he brings any money, of course we tell our people, ‘with this hunger on land on ground, collect it, but go ahead and vote for your son who represented you very well.’ So whatever he's going to do in Essien Udim will come to naught.

So when should we expect your arrangement for campaign?

We are looking up to INEC. As soon as they meet our terms and conditions, we swing to action.

So is there any official meeting between your camp and INEC or any stakeholder concerning the rerun...?

(Cuts in) Of course we have submitted our case to the national headquarters of INEC. We are expecting the feedback from them. If it is positive as we expect, then we know what to do. But so far, we have not heard from them.

What do you think the constituents of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District have so far missed with the absence of Senator Akpabio in the Red Chambers?

Oh the dynamicism, the pragmatism, the general love that he always shown for his own people and of course his benevolence. A lot of people troop to him, and as much as possible, he tries to solve their problems. This is something that is completely lacking since he moved on. But happily and luckily for us, he is still in government at the federal level. I have no doubt at all that he will use that office to continue to better the lots of our people, shower love on our people and reciprocate the kind of love they have for him. I have no doubt at all. So wherever he finds himself, I know Senator Akpabio has his people at his heart. He would continue to do whatever he could to empower them.

So what would you like to say to the supporters of Senator Godswill Akpabio in times like this?

Well, they should maintain their high spirits. Senator Akpabio, as they know, loves them. Senator Akpabio lives for his own people. He's the man that is after the welfare and comforts of his people. So let them await further instructions. As event gets unfold, we will give them instruction, which we believe as usual, they will comply.

What are those pressing issues in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District you think the present Senator should have addressed at the Red Chambers?

In Senator Akpabio's last outing in the Senate, he brought about 96 projects, and each local government area in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district had something. He addressed some critical projects that touched the lives of the people even at the lowest level of the communities. Some market stalls were built, health centres were renovated, some bridges that broke down were fixed, and empowerment programmes were added up as part of his constituency projects: people were massively empowered. What he used to do was to ask the community what their most pressing need is, something that can fit into the budget that we had. And once he approves we go ahead and include them. As far as those issues were concerned, he would go ahead, as he used to, note those projects, and then proceeds and see how he could solve the problems of the people. 

Well, the present senator (Ekpeyong) is very new in the Senate. The Senate is still struggling to find its feet. Let him go to the people and ask them what they need. Let's see how much influence he is going to wield in order to bring those things to the people. I'm not going to tell him do this and do that. In fact, if he gets to know what I suggest are the most pressing problems, he might go ahead to say 'I won't do those things'. So let them go to him; he has his office. Let the people go there, and know what is there.

Alright sir. Do you have any other thing to add to this interaction?

Yes! I want to thank the people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district for the great love they have shown to Distinguished Senator Akpabio. And I want them to continue to keep their fingers crossed. They have called for rerun. We are fully ready to participate provided what we have spelt out are met. As soon as those conditions are met, we swing to action, and then tell our people to go ahead and show the support they always have for Senator Godswill Akpabio. I wish them well; I expect them to have a merry Christmas.

©The Sensor Newspaper

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