Urges Oro Union to sheath sword, support A’Ibom Govt’s Effort For Ibom Deep Seaport
TheHILL | POLITICS | OCTOBER 14.
A Member of the 5th and 6th Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Charles Udofia on Wednesday, insisted that former Senate Minority Leader and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio is the authentic leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State.
While fielding questions from Journalists in Uyo, Udofia who represented Ikono State Constituency, said Senator John Udoedeghe’s membership of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC does not automatically place him as the Party’s leader in the state.
He explained that as the highest serving political office holder from the state, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio is the Leader of the party in Akwa Ibom.
“I want to put the records very straight. The truth of the matter is whether you like Governor Udom Emmanuel or not, he is the Chief Executive of Akwa Ibom State. By virtue of his office, he’s the leader of his party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State. You can’t take that from him. And then, the leader of the APC in Akwa Ibom State is Senator Godswill Akpabio, by the virtue of his position as a Minister, a Senior Minister at that, like or hate him,” he stated.
Explaining further, Udofia said, “As I’m talking to you right now, Barr. Emmanuel Enoidem is the Legal Adviser of their party (PDP) at the national level. He is a member of the National Working Committee at the national. Udoedeghe is also a member of the Central Working Committee at the national. Then you come to tell me that Barr. Enoidem is the leader of the party, while you have a sitting Governor? I don’t get it.
“There are criteria that make you a leader. I am saying that Senator Godswill Akpabio as the highest political office holder from Akwa Ibom, is the Leader of the APC in Akwa Ibom State. I’m also saying that Governor Udom Emmanuel is the leader of the PDP in Akwa Ibom State, not Enoidem. When Adams Oshiomole was the Chairman of the APC, President Buhari was the leader of the party.
“Go to Anambra state for instance, we have Senator Andy Ubah who is now the flag bearer of the APC. But the leader of the party is Chris Ngige who is a Minister. And to crown my argument, the leader of the PDP in the whole Nigeria is Senator Abaribe who is Minority Leader of the Senate. He’s the one with the highest position in the country, as long as PDP is concerned. I stand to be corrected”, he said.
Asked how Senator Akpabio has supported the APC in Akwa Ibom, Udofia said, the former governor “has changed the bitter stories of APC in the state to become palatable with massive empowerment for the youth, contracts for stakeholders and scholarships for students.
He added that, it was impossible for Senator Akpabio to satisfy or be loved by every member of the party.
” The leader of our party, Senator Godswill Akpabio has facilitated permanent employment, contracts Worth millions of Naira and scholarships for the good people of Akwa Ibom in particular and Niger Deltans at large.
“But, the purpose of this interview was not to sing his praises because the Bible admonishes us not to allow our left hand knows what the right is doing. I think everyone in my party has his or her role to play.
“No matter what you do, everybody would not like you. They did not like our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ even when He died for all of us. So, I don’t expect some members of the party to like him (Godswill Akpabio). And don’t also agree that all the party exco like Udoedghe. Senator Godswill Akpabio will do the best he can and leave the rest. You cannot satisfy everybody. That’s the truth. I know a lot of people have gotten contracts, empowerment, scholarship and employment from him”, he added.
He lauded the Minister for his efforts in making sure the Forensic Report was submitted to the President and hinted that the delay in the constitution of the NDDC board was not caused by the ex Akwa Ibom governor.
“If you go to the NDDC Act, there is a section that says there shall be an establishment of the NDDC and also the president shall appoint the members of the Board and also send the names of the nominees to the senate for clearance. It is also true that Akpabio is the Minister of Niger Delta that oversees the working of the NDDC. What I do not know is if his ministerial responsibilities include nominating or forwarding names of the NDDC board either to the Senate or to the President.
“Mine is very simple. A Board should be put in place. I want to believe that there must be something holding the board but I want to advise that it should be resolved because when the board comes in, the commission will have a legal entity and a face.
While reacting to the purported suspension of over eighty key members of the party by the Caretaker Committee led by Dr. Ita Udosen, the former Lawmaker maintained that the decision had no constitutional backing, as Caretaker Committees were not recognised by the APC constitution.
“My question is that as Caretaker Committee of the Party (APC), where do you derive your powers from? From Chapter One of the APC Constitution, to page 105 of the same constitution, as Amended, I can assure you that there is no paragraph that recognizes a Caretaker Exco. I have never seen where that massive members of a party were suspended, not even even in the church. Do you want to build or destroy the party? Do you even have the powers to suspend? The Constitution that they claim to rely on is for an elected executive of the party, not Caretaker. Are you aware that some factions of the APC also suspended the Caretaker Committee of the APC in Akwa Ibom? They are in court,” he quipped.
Victor Udofia cleared the air on rumours of his planned return to the PDP and further expressed hope that the APC will resolve all internal issues in due time.
“You can’t say that there is no APC in Akwa Ibom State. I am a card-carrying member of the APC. I don’t belong to any faction of the APC. If PDP feels I’m very important, they should come and lobby me. But for now, I am a member of the APC. I am comfortable where I am.
“Even in PDP, you have issues. After rain comes sunshine. There must be disagreement but at the end of it, we’ll sit on the round table and say please come, we have to move forward. Even sometimes, the tongue and the teeth clash, but that doesn’t mean that food won’t get to the stomach.”
He lauded the National Assembly on the new amended Electoral Law which approved the use of a direct primary for the nomination of candidates by political parties for elections and electronic transmission of results.
“It’s a welcome development and we ought to congratulate the National Assembly for listening to the voices of the masses, knowing that power belongs to the people, not an individual. The Senate has proven itself as a credible institution.
Direct Primaries will surely return powers to the real owners, that’s the electorate and will stop ‘mbiam politics. Anyone who is against the direct primaries is not popular,” he noted.
On the imbroglio surrounding the siting and changing of name of the deep seaport from “Ibaka” to “Ibom”, the former Parliamentarian said the Governor did not err. He reasoned that since siting the deep seaport at any location in the State does not make it the sole property of the host community, but that of the entire State, Oro people should cease fire and support the billion Naira project, submitting that the governor knows what is best for the State.
Have any useful information or Ads for us? Send to, [email protected] or WhatsApp news line; 08022878104
