TheHILL | POLITICS | March 3.
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Bassey has indicated interest in contesting for the Senate seat of Uyo Senatorial District.
Our source, TheMail Newspaper first reported that Rt. Hon. Bassey on Wednesday, consulted his colleagues in the Uyo Senatorial District caucus of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.
Ahead of the PDP primary coming up mid-2022, our source hinted that many options were on the table for Aniekan Bassey.
The options available for him were Senate, House of Representatives and a possible third term in the AKHA. After months of rumors and dilly-dallying, he has thrown his hat into the senate ring.
This will come as an exciting piece of news for Member Representing Ibesikpo Asutan in the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Uko and Rt. Hon. Mark Esset who represents Nsit Atai in the Assembly as they were waiting for the speaker to declare for Senate so that the coast would be cleared for them to vie for the Uyo House of Representatives seat.
Sources said that if Aniekan Bassey had opted to contest for Reps, the ambitions of Mark and Uko would have suffered huge setback as it is believed the Speaker would have had a right of first refusal for the Reps ticket.
Aniekan Uko’s desire for the Speaker to join the senate race is said to have informed his decision to agitate for the Uyo seat in the Red Chambers to be the exclusive preserve of Uyo Federal Constituency. Aniekan Uko during the recent Ibesikpo Asutan stakeholders’ meeting had hurled invectives at his former boss at the party level, Obong Paul Ekpo.
Government House sources informed that Aniekan Bassey got the clearance from Udom to contest for senate during a private meeting with the governor on Tuesday.
Aniekan Bassey will slug it out at the PDP primary with former two-term chairman of the party, Obong Paul Ekpo and former two term member of AKHA, Rt. Hon. Usenobong Akpabio. Prince Godwin Ntukudeh who is now the Deputy Director General of Campaigns for Umo Eno is said to have dropped his senate ambition.
