This man I intend to write about is my boss. His name is Godswill and he
believes so much in the will of God and not the will of man.
In 2006 in the heat of the gubernatorial campaigns, championed by the
then octopus Akwa Ibom Peoples Forum AKPF and its affiliates across the
state, Chief Akpabio roared like an angry lion thus, AKPF, and an
appreciative crowd responded, let’s Godswill be done! And vice versa.
And the entire state was in a state of frenzy welcoming the then
Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barr.
Godswill Akpabio as a beautiful bride, who was sent by God to unite the
State, heal the wounds and thereafter bring about socio-economic
eldorado in all parts of the State.
Little wonder therefore, Chief Akpabio later triumphed at the PDP
Governorship primaries beating about 57 other contestants that spread
across the three senatorial districts of the State.
What am I trying to say? In a nutshell, Chief Godswill Akpabio CON was a
product of the people and indeed the will of God for Akwa Abasi Ibom
State.
But the big question is, what is wrong, if we allow the wishes of the people
to prevail so that we can jointly produce another God’s Will for our dear
state in 2015?
In my opinion, I don’t see anything wrong in the Governor seeking to know
who succeeds him or giving rehearsals to those who are in preparatory
class or waiting on the wings to step into the big shoes as the State Chief
Executive in 2015.
But what I feel unacceptable is the activities of certain influential
personalities, groups or cabal who have wielded so much power in
governance in the past six years who are probably boxing the governor to
a corner to ensure that he anoints their preferred candidate(s) or
ultimately subsumes his political cum economic interest in theirs.
When we the early disciples of Gov. Akpabio nicknamed him the promise
keeper, it wasn’t to flatter him but to confirm what we had personally and
collectively witnessed that the governor keeps his promises to the people
who voted massively for him in 2007 and repeated same in 2011
sometimes against all odds.
Early this year, I wrote about the search for Akpabio’s successor in 2015
which I entitled “the big scramble”. There I chronicled the activities of
certain influential persons and groups. In that piece, I drew the attention of
the public to the huge pressures the governor was going through by certain
groups notably, Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio led by Ntisong Engr. Essien
Ekidem, Eket Senatorial District Forum led by Senator Etang Edet Umoyo,
Uyo Senatorial District Elders council led by Otuekong Sunny Jackson
Udoh and the inner power brokers championed by ‘I’ Eleven, the list is
endless. They all came in different uniforms but had one message for the
governor, “show us the senatorial district that would produced your
successor in 2015”.
To be very honest to you, none of the governorship aspirants
masquerading to take over from Akpabio, can give him the Chief Rotimi
Amaechi/Dr. Peter Odili contraption currently witnessed in Rivers State
and the attendant political crises witnessed in our neighbouring oil riched
state; since almost all the contenders are directly or indirectly his
products.
It was perhaps to buttress this fact and to give a level playing ground to
all the contestants that Gov. Akpabio reportedly said thus, during the last
good governance tour of the state led by Information and National
Orientation Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku.
“If you ask me, I will tell you that I am not a product of zoning but a
product of the people. In 2006 57 people from Uyo, Eket and Ikot Ekpene
Senatorial Districts all contested the primaries…”
After that incident, there was palpable political tension in the state as
some leaders of socio-political groups and political chieftains particularly
from Eket Senatorial District notably, Senator Etang Edet Umoyo and
former South South National Vice Chairman of the ruling PDP, Chief Edet
Nkpubre made provocative statements alleging that there will be crises of
unimaginable proportion if Gov. Akpabio and the PDP leadership fail to
hand over the 2015 governorship diadem to Eket Senatorial District.
Moments later, Gov. Akpabio reportedly held a town hall meeting at Eket
where he announced that he has no anointed candidate for the race, an
action insiders in the corridors of power said jolted the former Secretary to
the State Government, Mr. Umana Okon Umana whom many had dubbed
as the preferred candidate owing to the body language of the Governor
then for 2015.
That political confrontation had a major casualty in the person of Umana
Okon Umana, a man many called the engine room of Gov. Akpabio’s
uncommon transformation agenda, had to resign his exalted position as
SSG for a new entrant in the person of Mr. Udom Emmanuel, another
technocrat from the Zenith Bank Group.
After that episode, the print media and the social media have been
awashed with a plethora or cacophony of messages, communiqués etc,
each canvassing support for or against zoning of Governorship position in
2015.
At a point, I was wondering if the contest for 2015 is restricted to only
Akwa Ibom State as events in other states especially in the South South
zone did not receive similar attention.
Akpabio also had another cross to carry as the pioneer chairman of the
PDP Governor’s Forum, whose primary responsibility was to instill unity,
Comradeship and party discipline amongst fellow PDP Governors but with
the formation of the G7. Governors and later the New PDP, led by Alhaji
Abubakar Baraje, a former Acting National Chairman of the party,
Akpabio’s problems became rather cumbersome.
And on October 25, 2013 or there about, Gov. Akpabio together with a few
other Governors, some Ministers and officials of Christian Association of
Nigeria, CAN led by its President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor led other Christian
Pilgrims to join the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to pray for our
troubled Nation, Nigeria.
Gov. Akpabio, a known prayer warrior who had organized other religious
carnivals to bless the state in the past visited mount Sanai, Bethlehem
(where Christ was born) and many other holy sites to pray for Akwa Ibom
for unity and for a successful political transition programme in the state.
On coming home, Gov. Akpabio told airport correspondents at Enugu that
the Federal Government should declare a national day for prayers in the
Nation. We also gathered that during the visit of Bishop David Oyedepo of
Living Faith Church, Winners Chapel to Uyo last Sunday, Gov. Akpabio
basking in the euphoria of his prophetic anointing from Jerusalem has
been very methodical in his prophesies to the people of the state.
It is perhaps because of the influence of the direction of the ‘holy ghost’
that Gov. Akpabio on Monday 4th November, 2013 made another
“dramatic u-turn”, some of his critics called it “diplomatic gaffe” on the
2015 political debate.
Addressing a select group of media executives and Editors in Uyo, Gov.
Akpabio said unequivocally that the contest for 2015 Gubernatorial race is
open to any prospective candidate, that left for him, he would have
preferred to produce a candidate from Eket adding that he will allow the
people to decide what they want.
Hear him: Why have all my SSG’s been described as my successor?
Initially, it was the former SSG and now it is the present SSG. Let me tell
you gentlemen, I have no candidate in the gubernatorial election. The Next
Governor would be a product of the people and the will of God”, Akpabio
said with his philosophical calmness.
He appealed to newsmen not to fan the embers of ethnic disunity as the
state is one indivisible entity but to return to the glorious days of
responsible reportage.
The media briefing was watched by the State PDP chairman, Mr. Paul
Ekpo, some members of the State Executive council and some media
executives in the state.
My take on all this is simple. Gov. Akpabio the apostle of uncommon
transformation should be left alone to finish strong, end like a hero and
move on to provide service in another capacity to the nation. Just as it
was in 2006, the people of the state should be passionately interested in
who steps into the big shoes vacated by our Governor on 29th May, 2015.
The next Governor should take the entire state as his constituency by
ensuring even distribution of amenities popularly called democracy
dividends to the people and I repeat, no section of the state or ethnic group
should arrogate to itself the next Chief Executive of the State, thereby
giving undue prominence to the “turn by turn” or “our son” syndrome,
Enough is Enough!
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