The leadership and members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly have thrown their political weight behind the governorship aspiration of former Zenith Bank Executive Director, Udom Emmanuel.
The decision of the House to endorse Emmanuel was communicated to political stakeholders by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Sam Ikon, in his Ewet Housing, Uyo residence after the assembly members had a closed door meeting with Emmanuel.
After about two hours of deliberations, Ikon made public their declaration and support for the ambition of Emmanuel, who is the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government.
Ikon thanked the party elders and supporters who accompanied Emmanuel to the meeting for their time and patience.
He apologised on behalf of the members for keeping them waiting, noting on a lighter note that it was the tradition of the House to first have an executive session before the main sitting.
Ikon said a few members had communicated with the leadership of the House and could not be present due to other engagements.
The speaker said Emmanuel was the first governorship aspirant to consult the House and expressed the warm feelings of the members.
He said members of the House were strong representatives of their people and have the contacts, network and connection to reach out to the people at the grassroots.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Central Planning Committee and former Governor of the state, Otuekong Idongesit Nkanga, said Akwa Ibom State needed a man with a private sector background to charge the industrialization drive in Akwa Ibom State.
Nkanga noted that the reality on ground was that Akwa Ibom State cannot depend in future on the federal allocation for survival and needed somebody who has contacts with the financial world.
He observed that Governor Godswill Akpabio is adjudged today as a performer because of his private sector background.
He said Emmanuel will inject freshness into the system to drive the state forward.
The first National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Anietie Okon, said Udom comes in the same mould as the late Chief Clement Isong.
Okon said that after the late Brigadier E.J. Esuene had put down significant infrastructure in place, Chief Isong, a seasoned banker of the highest level, made significant strides in industrialization.
He said that the same follows in this case that after the uncommon transformation of Governor Akpabio, especially in infrastructural renaissance, God has sent another seasoned banker to drive the state towards wealth creation.
Earlier in the week, Emmanuel had told the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State of his intention to answer to the yearnings of the people and contest the forthcoming primary and general elections on the platform of the party.
Emmanuel made his intentions known on Friday at the state secretariat of the party located along Edet Akpan Avenue, Uyo in the company of party elders, senior citizens, captains of industries, serving and past political office holders, women and youth supporters to make his intentions known.
Nkanga had praised the Peoples Democratic Party and its leadership for its antecedence of fielding strong candidates and for democratically winning in previous elections.
Nkanga, who is also a member of the Akwa Ibom State team to the just concluded National Conference, condemned the recent campaign of hate and ethnicity fuelled by politicians from Uyo senatorial district.
He noted that no politician from Uyo senatorial district can claim to be more “Ibibio” than himself who has been a former governor of the state and has also led governorship campaigns for Akpabio.
He called for unity in the party and urged all aspirants to go about their campaigns with maturity.
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