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| Atuekong Don Etiebet |
Atuekong Don Etiebet, member of the BOT of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), has called for an open primary for the selection of the
party’s flag bearer for the 2015 gubernatorial election in Akwa Ibom State.
Delivering a lecture entitled “Democracy and the challenge
of leadership” at the 55th birthday celebration of Umana Okon Umana, Akwa Ibom
PDP leading governorship aspirant, Etiebet advised qualified and
interested politicians in the 2015
governorship race from all parts of the state to feel free and contest for the
party’s ticket.
He recalled that after the initial consensus agreement that
produced the first flag bearer of the party in 1999, primary contests in Akwa
Ibom PDP have always been open.
He called on aspirants to ignore the threat that those who
are not supported by the state governor will die because they are “seeking
power through the backdoor.”
He encouraged all aspirants to go to the “people who are the
real front door” for the mandate to run for office. “Go to the people who are
the front door and nobody will die, and if anybody dies, we will find the
killer,” Etiebet said.
Etiebet, a founding member of the Akwa Ibom PDP, vowed to
work with the national leadership of the party to provide a level playing for
all aspirants at the party primary coming up in two months’ time in the state.
Also speaking at the birthday party, Obong Bassey Albert,
immediate past commissioner for finance in the state and a PDP governorship
aspirant, pledged to work with Umana for the good of democracy in the state.
Recalling that it was the bloc votes from Uyo Senatorial District (USD) that
helped Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District (ISD) to produce the current
administration in the state, Bassey said it was only fair that other senatorial
districts should support Uyo to produce the next governor of the state.
He criticised the application of the concept of equity and
justice in the current agitation by some politicians for the zoning of the
office of governor to Eket Senatorial District, explaining that the fact that
the representatives of the state in all key federal appointments such as MD/CEO
of NDDC, ambassadorial position, ministerial appointment, chairman of Revenue
Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission are all from Eket Senatorial
District, clearly shows lack of merit in the agitation. He said USD is actually
the politically marginalised district in the state.
In a speech of appreciation for the honour done to him by
friends and associates who organised the birthday celebration, Umana restated
his plan to run an inclusive administration if elected into office. Umana
promised war against poverty and unemployment (WAPU) as the key focus of his
administration.
He also promised to balance investment in hard issues of development such as infrastructure against investment in soft issues like health, education and security. He pledged to pay special attention to human capital development, adding that under his administration any Akwa Ibom child who makes a first class in the university will get automatic scholarship to graduate school in the best institutions in the world, such as Harvard, Stanford, Yale, IMT, Oxford, Cambridge.
The birthday party was attended by more than 8,000 guests
from all parts of Nigeria, including HE Jolly John Nyame, former governor of
Taraba State, who chaired the occasion; senators, political chieftains from all
parts of the state, and socio-cultural groups from Ibibio land, Annang and Oron.
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