By Jude INYANGETOH
The Ikot Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot Akara Federal Constituency flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Barr. Patrick Umoh is no doubt one of the finest breed of gentlemen we have in this part of our clime.
He is an accomplished Lawyer by profession, a Teacher by career and Politician by calling. When asked about what inspired him to go into politics, he had this to say, “My foray into politics was inspired by the quest to be of service to my people, community and society at large. This singular objective is what has kept me going for years and since then, I have decided not to look back.”
HIS LEADERSHIP & CAREER TRAJECTORY
Having been privileged to rise through the rungs of leadership right from his undergraduate years in the University, Barr. Patrick Umoh as he is fondly called and addressed by his friends and foes alike, has by sheer providence been sufficiently equipped for public service even at the highest level that he can think of. A cursory look into his resume reveals that the young Patrick was the Class Representative for the Faculty of Law, University of Uyo between 2005 and 2008. He served as the President, National Association of Obot Akara Students Worldwide from 2007 to 2008. He also served as the President of Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN), University of Uyo .
The records also show that this gentleman had his legal tutelage as a Pupil Counsel with Lex Fori Partners, Calabar from 2010 to 2011. Thereafter, he was employed at Matrix Solicitors, Abuja. Dr. Patrick Umoh returned to Uyo in 2012 and worked briefly with Nwoko & co before his appointment as Secretary of Obot Akara Local Government Area. Between 2012 and 2016, Barr. Patrick Umoh served as the Council Secretary of Obot Akara Local Government Area. He returned to legal Practice and worked with the firms of Fortress & Shepherds, Uyo; Kris & Paul services, Uyo respectively. Thereafter, Dr Patrick Umoh co- founded the firm of Godswill Akpabio Law House where he serves as Managing Partner. Dr Umoh is the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Centre for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development(CERAD).
Between 2018- 2019, Dr. Patrick Umoh served as the Senior Legislative Aide to the former Senate Minority Leader – Sen.Godswill Akpabio,CON. He was the Special Assistant to the immediate-past Honourable Minister, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
Dr. Patrick Umoh is an astute legal practitioner and a Law Lecturer at the University of Uyo. Some of the law courses taught by Dr. Umoh include Legal Method, Law of Evidence, Oil and Gas Law , Law of Torts, Principles of Law of Contract etc.
He is a consummate member of the Nigerian Bar Association; Member, Institute of Chartered Mediators & Concilliators; Member, Professional Negotiators & Mediators of Nigeria among others.
YEARS OF INTELLECTUAL EXCURSION:
Born on 9th April 1982, the emerging legal guru attended St. Peter’s Primary School, Urua Edet Obo where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate at the Distinction level. He later got enrolled in Queen of Apostles Seminary, Afaha Obong where he obtained his Senior School Certificate in 1998. He then proceeded to the University of Uyo where he studied Law and did graduate Magna Cum Laude in 2009. Having been festooned with the legal badge of LL.B, he moved on to the Nigerian Law School, Lagos and was thereafter called to Bar in 2010.
In a bid to assuage his innate craving for the attainment of higher academic goals, he went back to his Alma Mater in 2012 to pursue a Master’s degree in Law. He successfully completed the program in 2014 with an award of LL.M by the Faculty of Law, University of Uyo. With a Masters degree in Law in his kitty, one would have thought the intellectual Icon would endure an interregnum to study less, but Barr. Patrick Umoh would have none of that. He had already set his eyes on the goal to become a Doctor of Law – a legal guru by implication. So like a go-getter that he is, he enrolled in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka for his third postgraduate degree and there he was awarded a Ph.D in International and Comparative Law in 2019. Dr. Patrick Umoh through his many years of intellectual excursion and study has won many distinctive awards some of which include:
• Best Graduating Student in Law.
• University of Uyo Academic Prize Winner.
• Mma Obot Foundation Award for Best Graduating Student in Law.
• Students Representative Council Award.
Dr Umoh has authored books and published in many reputable journals. The latest of his works is titled “Climate Change Law in Context”.
HIS CHURCH & COMMUNITY SERVICE EXPLOITS:
Dr. Patrick Umoh is a practicing Christian with untainted bias for the Catholic faith. His exploits in the Church has no doubt been remarkable as observed in the key positions of trust he has held in the past. Presently, he sits as the Secretary of the Justice Development & Peace Commission – a Social Welfare Agency of the Catholic Diocese of Ikot Ekpene. He is a worthy member of the Order of Knights of St. John’s International (KSJI).
Over the years, Dr. Patrick Umoh has also not ebbed in his involvement in Community Service and Development Initiatives, some of which has seen him play lead roles. Through his direct intervention, he was able to attract a road construction project to his Community with support and funding from the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. He has also singlehandedly rebuilt and caused to be put back to use a dilapidated Catholic Church building in his Community. The reconstructed Church edifice was dedicated and commissioned for use sometime in August 2021 by His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Camillus Umoh – the Catholic Bishop of Ikot Ekpene Diocese.
THE ‘YOUTH PRODIGY’ DESERVE OUR VOTES:
Having achieved all these in a space of 2 scores which to a layman translates to a span of 40 years, one would readily agree with the fact that Barr. Patrick Umoh is a ‘Youth Prodigy’ capable of impacting our society pretty more than we can ever imagine, if given the platform to stand. He is already armed with quite an intimidating array of credentials to function maximally at the Green Chamber and he has also got in his kitty a well-loaded portfolio of experience in public service to bouy his performance. Besides, Dr. Patrick Umoh is a well known Orator whose oratory prowess puts him at a vantage position to contribute more meaningfully in any debate at the floor of the 10th Assembly, if elected by the grace of God.
THE UGLY SPECTACLE OF OUR TIME:
In this era and time that a lot of people seek to occupy public offices not because they want to make a difference but rather because they lust after the trappings of high office, we the electorates must bear to be more circumspect in deciding who we give our mandate to represent us at any level of governance. It is most regrettable that our public offices which hitherto were the hallowed precinct of upstanding and forthright personages have today been desecrated and rendered an all-comers-affair. We have seen on flagrant display what ranges from the mundane to the most absurd. No wonder Edmund Burke stated thus: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Perhaps that may be the reason why in this season of elections, we are wont to see all manners of character bereft individuals filing out for the all-important contest. In that vicious crowd of ill-inspired folks seeking to call the shots in our political space; we can see those who are patently encumbered by the eligibility baggage because they have procured or cause to be doctored that which they wish to use in gaining the eligibility pass; still they must vie. Yet there are others who are struggling in sheer futility to deodorize the stinky underbelly of their odoriferous past which trails them like a death-bound fly. For these peculiar reasons, the people of Ikot Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot Akara Federal Constituency must be thankful to God that their frontline Candidate – Obong Dr. Patrick Umoh is not one among the vicious crowd of contenders posing for attention. He is a thoroughbred gentleman who has no questionable attribute to worry about. Like the Whiteman would say, “he is as plain as the nose on one’s face.”
CONCLUSION:
It is on this note that we must ensure that we put party sentiments aside and rise to the occasion to vote for the best candidate the Federal Constituency would ever produce. Barr. Patrick Umoh is not just among the finest breed of candidates the APC has lined up for the 2023 contest; he is exceptionally brilliant, young, vibrant, dynamic and results-oriented. In a nutshell, the emergence of Obong Dr. Patrick Umoh as the next Representative of our people at the Green Chamber shall amount to putting a round Peg in a round hole. The time is now to elect the best for us to experience the best in leadership.
Comrade Jude Inyangetoh is a Union Activist & Public Affairs Analyst, he writes from Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
