The declaration by Gov Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State of the candidate that would succeed him when he exits office in 2023 has continued to garner reactions from different strata of the state.
Gov Emmanuel through the former governor, Obong Victor Attah had on Sunday evening presented Pastor Umo Eno, an Nsit Ibom born hotelier and Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources to stakeholders from the three Senatorial Districts of the state as a preferred candidate to succeed him by 2023.
The presentation of Pastor Eno who has been dubbed a neophyte in the political space may not come as a surprise to some insiders as it was gathered that the Fathers of faith who play dominant roles in Gov Emmanuel’s administration had presented him to the governor as their candidate.
The move appears to have minimized the chances of other aspirants who could have been considered better candidates for Governor.
The declaration it was gathered has unsettled many quarters in the state as some have described the governor’s action as a premature ejaculation which would heat the political space too early while some it is a step in the right direction that would help mould 2023 politicking in the state.
Despite the negative reactions from many quarters, the chairman of the Civil Society Organisations in the state, Harry Udoh in an interview with our correspondent claimed it was within the governor’s remit to support any aspirant or candidate of his choice.
He, however, maintained that the choice of who governs the state remains the final decision of the people
“That is the governor’s choice and it is within his remit to support whoever he wants and that’s not the choice of Akwa Ibom people. There’s still the primary election to be won and there is still the general election to be won anybody can choose anybody, it is left for the people to decide, I think that’s what democracy is all about.
”The caveat is that the people remain the final arbiter in choosing whoever will govern them.
“The governor can go ahead and dream the dreams he wants and see visions he wants but that is not the dream of the people. The people have to decide at the end, who should be governor. We can’t argue with the governor, I have my dreams and visions too likewise every other person.”
He said gone are the days when a governor would handpick a successor and impose on the people as there is a heightened interest nowadays by aspirants as no one is willing to throw in the towel just by the governor’s mere pronouncement.
“Things are changing, society is evolving, the way we used to do elections in time past is no longer like that, elections are different today, people are being more conscious, there is a heightened interest in what is happening in the polity. There used to be imposition but now I see a strong battle for that position, even in the time past there were upheavals.”
He, however, expressed reservations in the governor’s posturing in telling the people that he chose Pastor Eno because God has revealed him as his successor and not based on his track record of achievement and what he will be able to do for Akwa Ibom people describing the governor’s claims as questionable.
“The governor is not saying I chose this one based on his antecedent or what he can do but based on what God told me, but that is the fallacy to appeal to authority. I don’t have any problem with the Umo Eno but with the governor’s posturing. Had it been he said I chose this man because of his track record and his capacity to transform Akwa Ibom State, that makes better sense than saying this is who God told me! in this 21st century? you reduce God to a politician?” He queried.
But the governor a day after the pronouncement reassured Akwa Ibom people that he means well for them by choosing Pastor Eno as a successor claiming his anointed has the capacity to take the state to a higher height.
Also, one of the strong contenders from the Uyo Senatorial District, Onofiok Luke who was present during the stakeholders meeting in a swift reaction to the governor’s declaration accused him of using the ambush tactics and vowed not to bottle his gubernatorial ambition.
“My supporters and those sympathetic to my cause should please note that we are as resolute as ever in our desire to give our people purposeful leadership in the office of the Governor come 2023. God’s Amazing Grace has always seen us through and will always see us through.” He said.
Though Senator Bassey Akpan, the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East at the 9th National Assembly who is also a serious contender is yet to make any statement, his teeming supporters have gone haywire following the governor’s declaration.
Oba, a grassroots mobilizer for Akpan was said to have been in a closed-door meeting with different groups, speculatively, to launch a ferocious campaign even though analysts had it that if PDP gives him a hard kernel to grind he may seek another platform to dig it out at the polls.
Another contender, Governor Udom Emmanuel’s personal friend, Akan Udofia who plans to run under the platform of PDP in reaction to journalists said; “I heard it just as you heard so. I don’t have any comments. How can I subscribe to what I don’t know about?. The endorsement may be the governor’s initiative, so I don’t have any comment.”
Asked whether the endorsement wouldn’t affect his aspiration, Udofia replied: “How would it affect my aspiration. My aspiration is my aspiration. I don’t have time for side issues. My aspiration is for the people of Akwa Ibom State. The governor is my friend.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Ini Ememobong who is rumoured to be aspiring for the Hilltop mansion declined comments when journalists contacted him saying, “That’s not a state government matter. That’s a political party’s matter. So, I can’t talk as a Commissioner for Information.”
From academia, a lecturer of Communication Arts in the University of Uyo, Herbert Batta when contacted said ”did they pray for the Paramount Ruler to handpick a successor? Or did they pray for him to provide guidance and a level playing field for the best homegrown politician to emerge? Recall, that’s how Akpabio emerged, though Akpabio imposed his successor: Udom.”
However, Emmanuel Enoidem, National Chairman of Maintain Peace Movement, MPM, the political vehicle that would drive Udom’s succession plan) described the choice of Umo Eno as a dream come true for the organization, which he said had been praying for God to give Akwa Ibom a successor like Udom Emmanuel.
Asked how popular the anointed one is, Enoidem said, “We all know that Udom Emmanuel was not the most popular politician in 2015 when he was brought to us by God to contest for the position but he got the acceptability of the people and finally emerged the Governor of the state in 2015 and 2019. So, it is the grace of God and His will also that Umo Eno should succeed Udom Emmanuel and we stand by that.”
Enoidem described Umo Eno as a man after God’s heart who has also found favour in the side of God, Governor Udom Emmanuel and the people of the state.
