The Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, has been described as one of the very few indigenes of the state who is well qualified to succeed Governor Godswill Akpabio, if he decides at the end of the day to take a shot at the governorship.
This assertion was contained in a statement by Akparawa Ukeme Ekong and Obong Sylvester Umana, President and Secretary of the Akwa Ibom Support Initiative.
The group declared its support for the zoning of the governorship position to Eket Senatorial District in the spirit of equity, justice and unity and lauded Akpabio and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state for taking the decision.
The statement said: “We support the zoning of the governorship to ESD and we laud our governor and the party for supporting equity and justice, and we state unequivocally that Udom Emmanuel, as a son of Akwa Ibom and Ibibio is qualified to contest if he wants. ”
The group chided groups and individuals who had in the past few months been engaging in campaign of calumny against Emmanuel, when he has not even decided whether to contest or not, adding: “We condemn the recent spate of sponsored media attacks on the SSG by some individuals and faceless groups, when he has not even declared interest in the position and their actions smack of fear and intimidation of Udom’s intimidating credentials.”
Udom, the release added, “is a bonafide Akwa Ibom and Ibibio son, who has excelled in his chosen career and he is therefore, very very qualified to contest the governorship if he so desires, adding that, the emergence of Udom as the governor, would lead to the continuation of the uncommon transformation because of his pedigree, exposure,competence and service mentality.”
According to the group: “If Udom decides to contest, people should assess him on his achievements in office, pedigree, educational background, track record of untainted career in the private sector, and not whether he is an Ibibio man from Onna and not from Uyo, afterall, if Akpabio promised to handover power to Ibibio in 2015, the question then is are Ibibios in Eket not Ibibios? Let us not, in the name of politics and power struggle, fan the embers of disunity, if truly we are seeking to serve, because we are all brothers and sisters.”
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