TheHILL | POLITICS | February 18.
Unless some officials of the Akwa Ibom government and upper echelon of the State’s Chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) put a stop to alleged incessant harassment and intimidation of the party’s delegate, there would be a negative effect in the “long earned success” of the ‘umbrella’ party in the oil rich State.
This was the position of ‘Akwa Ubok Abasi’, the governorship campaign organization of Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, when the organization’s Chairman; ArchBishop Andrew Uwanta, addressed a press conference on Thursday in Uyo, the State capital.
Akpan, popularly called OBA by people of the State is a serving Senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District. He is a frontline PDP aspirant in the forthcoming Governorship election.
However, ArchBishop Uwanta raised alarm that, some PDP officials and those working for the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, a Church Deacon, were preventing statutory delegates of their party from fraternizing with other PDP Governorship aspirants, except the preferred choice of the Governor, Pastor Umo Eno.
“This has been the scenario across the state in recent times and cuts a picture of systemic and strategic plan to victimize, undermind and infringe on the inalienable rights of these members of the party as provided for by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is therefore on the strength of the above provisions that the recent and ugly activities of some Akwa Ibom State government and party officials, individually and as a group, calling meetings as well as reaching out to some party members mostly statutory delegates to direct them against freely associating with other leaders/members of the party and also threatening and intimidating them with violent and illegal sanctions such as delisting, suspension and prevention from participating in voting at Party Primary elections of which they are legitimate delegates is unfortunate, irrational, unconstitutional, null and void,” said ArchBishop Uwanta, who headed Governor Emmanuel’s campaign structure in 2014.
He, however, encouraged PDP members and delegates in the State to ignore what he referred to as “empty threats and intimidations” by some political actors, but continue in their lawful and loyal activities to promote an egalitarian society founded on freedom, equality and justice.
The Akwa Ubok Abasi Campaign Organization’s czar stressed on the need for a level playing field for all Governorship aspirants in the PDP
“We insist that in line with the appropriate provisions of our party, the leadership of the party should ensure a level-playing field for all the delegates to exercise their free choices by supporting whoever they want without intimidation. Nigeria is running a democracy and not a theocracy (a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God), monarchy or dictatorship – where one man’s choice or decision must be obeyed by all without question.
“We also demand that primary election, as stipulated by our party constitution, be conducted in a free, fair and credible manner, where all the aspirants will subject themselves to the voting choices of the delegates and test their popularities. This will truly ensure that our party retains its enviable hold on our dear state in the general election.”
