2023: Confusion In Akwa Ibom State PDP,APC
2023: RUMPUS IN AKWA IBOM STATE PDP AND APC
By Osondu Ahirika
THE PDP PLOT
For the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Akwa Ibom State, all seems to be well. At least, for now. This much can be gleaned from the enlarged stakeholders meeting of the party in Uyo on Friday May 14, 2021.
After the well attended meeting, Stakeholders of the PDP who were at the Banquet House of the Hilltop Mansion venue of the parley, passed a unanimous vote of confidence on Governor Udom Emmanuel.
That was a bold front, following the flip-flop and sudden reversal of the inauguration of what the Party tagged, ‘Sensitization and Mobilization Committee’, set up a accross the 31 Local Government Areas, earlier scheduled for May 12, 2021. The PDP Stakeholders meeting was seen by pundits to be a fence mending and trouble shooting strategy, following the earthquake rumpus that shook the Party as the composition of the said Committee was seen as a deliberate ploy to ostracize and undermine some political camps in the Party.
However they arrived at the decision to suspend the inauguration, it was a wise move, which forestalled the breakdown of the fragile peace in the party. The tone of the Press release putting of the inauguration signed by Mr Borono Bassey, State Publicity Secretary of the Party revealed the terse situation. It read:
“The Acting State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Rt. Hon Lawrence Udosen has directed that the Sensitisation/Mobilisation committee which was scheduled to be inaugurated on Wednesday May 12, 2021 be put on hold till further notice.
He sincerely apologises for the mix up in the captioning of the name of the Committee. New information regarding the committee will be made available in due course.
Inconveniences are deeply regretted.”
Apart from the policy statements of the Governor, the most important agenda muted at the meeting was made by the Acting State Chairman of the party, Rt. Hon. Lawrence Udosen who charged those he defined as, “stakeholders in the Completion Agenda of the governor” to continue supporting the Governor and enjoined them to stay true and remain resolute and true to the succession plan.
The question that is yet to be answered is, what exactly is Governor Emmanuel’s Succession Plan? The PDP in Akwa Ibom State took a further step forward as Governor Emmanuel, during his Chat with the People disclosed that, Hon. Elder Aniekan Akpan will replace the late Hon. Udo Ekpenyong as the State Chairman of the Party.
His challenge remains a herculean one of how to safely midwife a rancour free PDP Governorship nomination and avoid fragmenting the party as well as ensuring, no slip makes the opposition All Progressives Congress at the State level to take over.
THE APC SCENARIO
On the flipside, the APC is not healthy too. The internecine infighting for the control of the soul of the party is raging between the Minister of the Niger Delta Ministry, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Acting National Secretary of the Party, Senator John Udoedehe.
A stakeholders meeting the APC convened by Group Captain Sam Enwang Rtd, which declared Senator Akpabio,
Leader of the APC in the State, triggered a factional war that threatened to tear the party to shreds.
Senator Akpabio leads a political bloc in the Party known as Akwa Ibom Democratic Forum, which recently set up Chzpters across the 31 Council Areas and Udoedehe’s Mass Mobilization for Senator AkpanUdoedehe, MAMSER, see the ADF as a threat to the perennial Governorship ambition of Senator Udoedehe.
So far, Senator Akpabio had shunned every Stakeholders meeting of the APC convened by the State Chairman of the Party, Dr Ita Udosen, who has vehemently disclaimed every other meeting held in the name of APC.
To calm the tension in APC, Senator Akpabio paid a Courtesy Call on Senator Udoedehe at his Office at the National Secretariat of the Party on April 30, 2021 and few days afterwards, on May 4, Senator Udoedehe repaid the gesture and visited with Senator Akpabio at the latter’s office too. They reassured Party faithfuls, that they’re together.
For now it is not clear if another camp will breakout in the APC to complicate the scenario .
Despite the photo shoots, pundits know the ‘Last Fight’ has only been deferred. The coming war in the APC will be epic as 2023 looms closer, unless both titans can maintain whatever accord they reached behind closed doors.
THE SUCCESSION GAMBIT OF GOVERNOR UDOM EMMANUEL
For the PDP again, many fear that, key actors like Senator Bassey Albert, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke Mr Udom Inoyo and Senator Effiong Bob will fight to the finish for the Party’s Ticket. These ones are by no means the only contenders for the PDP flag. The list is long and may grow by the day.
This is where the much anticipated Succession Plan of Governor Udom Emmanuel will become a critical factor to the cohesion and stability of PDP-AKS. Pundits argue that, his safest option is to adopt a Candidate who emerges after the Primaries and not adopt or annoint an Aspirant to prevent a skirmish.
However, hardliners insist, he should show direction early enough for the Party to fall in line with a consensus candidate. That exactly is where the booby trap is. If the Governor shows his hand and annoints or supports an aspirant, will the others stay put in the Party? Will there be mass defection as witnessed in 2015 when we had 22 Governorship Candidates fight PDP under the aegis of G 22 while some of them dumped the Party for other platforms?
As things stand, defections have thus far, backfired in Akwa Ibom State politics. All the big wigs that left PDP including Senator Udoedehe, Obong Umana Okon Umana, Obong Nsima Ekere and Senator Godswill Akpabio, who are remarkable politicians of note failed electorally. Pundits don’t see the defection option as being attractive to any Governorship aspirant in PDP. So, what is the path way forward for those not favoured? The answer lies in the womb of time.
THE WAITING GAME
The tension in the PDP is not helped by the confusion on identifying for real, who Governor Emmanuel will eventually back as his preferred successor. For now speculations are rife and several names continue to fly. What is incontrovertible is that, only the Governor can correctly answer that poser. Until then, the waiting game continues. Another fact that remains valid is that when he eventually shows his hands, PDP will suffer some reverberation that must be managed with political sagacity and this is the major test for the new Party Chairman. How he keeps the Umbrella strong remains to be seen.
THE POLITICS OF DEFECTION
For those aspirants who lose out from the PDP and APC primaries or pre nomination calculations, porting to another Political Party may be an option to pursue their political careers. This strategy is fraught with complications.
Two weeks ago, precisely on May 7, 2021, news broke that, the Supreme Court has affirmed the judgement of the Court of Appeal which okayed the deregistration of National Unity Party and others. Consequentially, 74 Political Associations had their fate sealed by that judgement.
In February 2020, INEC had announced the deregistration of about 74 political parties having stated that, they failed to meet the minimum requirements of winning any electoral seats in the 2019 polls to guarantee or justify their existence.
The NUP took the legal option of challenging the decision of INEC. However, in delivering judgement, Justice Adamu Jauro, of the apex court said the deregistration of NUP, one of the 74 parties, was done in line with the Laws and in compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution and Electoral Act.
From the lower Federal Hight Court to the Supreme Court, it was held that INEC validly exercised its powers in Section 225A of 1999 Constitution (as amended), to de-register any party according to the provisionsof that subsection.
The judgment therefore rendered the appeal of the NUP against the earlier verdict of the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court on July 29, 2020, affirming the powers of INEC to deregister political parties an exercise in futility and sealed the associated fate of the 74 political parties that were affected by the deregistration.
In all 18 Polical Parties survived the massive purge. That list includes, Accord Party, AP, Action Alliance, AA, African Action Congres, AAC, African Democratic Congress, ADC, African Democratic Party, ADP, All Progressives Congress, APC, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Allied Peoples Movement, APM, Labour Party, LP and New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.
Others are, National Rescue Movement, NRM, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, Social Democratic Party, SDP, Young Progressive Party, YPP, Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, Action Peoples Party, APP and Boot Party, BT.
THE INFILTRATION FACTOR
Of all these 18 Poltical Parties, there is a clear and present danger. Virtually all of them have been infiltrated by the two dominant Parties, PDP and APC.
Indeed, some observers have cause to believe, the State and Ward Executive Committees of these Parties are surrogates or proxies of the dominant Parties. Tbeir briefs, pundits argue, is to hold down the platforms to prevent and frustrate their hijack by political actors who lose out from the Primaries, so they don’t have a platform for reprieve.
These Parties will float Candidates who are decoys just to hold down the tickets and this will spell the end of the road for the defectors whose hopes will be dashed. A lot of politicking and strategies will unravel as we approach the dateline.
For now, we wait and watch.
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