This time last week it looked as if the name of Udom
Emmanuel, former Akwa Ibom State Secretary to the State Government (SSG), will
be missing among those of governorship candidates submitted to the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC). Justice Y. Halilu of the High Court of
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) restrained the PDP from submitting
Emmanuel’s name or the name of any other person as the winner of the PDP
governorship primary in Akwa Ibom State. After giving the order, Justice Halilu
adjourned the substantive suit till January 5, next year because of the
Christmas and New Year break.
A vacation judge, however, turned the tide. Now, Emmanuel
has to worry about the substantive suit going his way. But, it is clear to
Emmanuel and his major backer, Governor Godswill Akpabio, that there is the
need to rein in the aggrieved governorship aspirants. There are 22 of them,
which include two men who were Akpabio’s deputy, Patrick Ekpotu and Nsima
Ekere.
This was why the governor called a peace meeting in Abuja,
which lasted till the wee hours of Saturday, December 20. The meeting, which
held at the PDP National Secretariat, was almost deadlocked from the beginning.
A shouting match, said a source at the meeting, ensued between one of the
aspirants, Chief Asam Asam (SAN) and the governor. There was palpable
apprehension at the meeting, according to one the aspirants who would not want
to be named, as a result of the fracas between Akpabio and Asam, who was
Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice.
Both men were later calm down by others in the meeting after
which they resolved to sing Christian worship songs and pray as a way of
dousing tension. The meeting was from that point moderated by Ekpotu. The
governor pleaded with them to accept Emmanuel as the governorship candidate of
the PDP, a position that was outrightly rejected by the group on the basis that
“the process that threw him up was faulty, not transparent and toxic. The
December 8 exercise was everything but democratic and this has resulted in
several litigations which ought not to be had the process passed credibility
test”.
At a point in the meeting, Akpabio called on Emmanuel to
plead with the other aspirants. A source said Emmanuel in his speech likened
his case to that of Jesus who was initially rejected by his people but later
turned out to become the saviour.
This allusion to Jesus reportedly infuriated the aspirants
as he was reportedly castigated for his lack of humility. The group of 22 also
told Akpabio that Emmanuel cannot win election with such attitude, warning that
the PDP would be throwing away its chances of retaining with him as candidate.
Apparently disturbed at the turn of event at the meeting,
Akpabio requested that the group write him a letter stating the reasons why
they think Emmanuel should not fly the flag of the PDP in the February
election, promising to approach the party leadership and the president with the
letter for further deliberation, a source at the meeting said.
After the meeting, the aspirants promised to work for the
reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan, but vowed to do everything within their
power to stop Emmanuel. They also said they would pursue the substantive suit.
Sources also said that the group will today “appeal the vacation of the
injunction”.
The Nation learnt that the aspirants’ letter to Akpabio will
be built on the petition to the PDP leadership on Emmanuel’s emergence. The
petition dated December 9 described the primary, which produced Emmanuel,
though broadcast live on television, as a “sham” and “scam”.
In the petition, the aspirants said the primary violated the
party’s rule on accreditation of delegates. They said no delegate was
accredited at the venue of the primary, adding that they were told by the
chairman of the Electoral Panel that the accreditation of delegates was done at
the Government House, where the delegates were conveyed in buses to the venue
of the poll. They alleged that unqualified persons were smuggled into the venue
as delegates, thus rubbishing the process. The non-accreditation of delegates,
they said, broke the 19th paragraph of the Electoral guidelines.
The aggrieved men said the delegates’ list was contrived
because there was no proper election of delegates from the ward level on
November 1.
They said: “It is our prayer that the fraudulent exercise,
herein complained of, be nullified for the sake of the party’s credibility and
a transparent process be deployed for the emergence of a gubernatorial
candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State.
“The enormity of a combination of the above irregularities
on the entire Gubernatorial Primary Election and the ultimate fortunes of the
party in general election cannot be over emphasized. We believe that your
intervention, can save us from the avoidable cataclysm we are won’t to face if
this fraud is condoned.”
Another issue the aggrieved have against Emmanuel’s
emergence is that delegates were not given ballot papers in public glare to
vote during the election. They said the delegates got to the venue with already
marked ballot papers and only deposited them in the boxes when it was time to vote. They also alleged that their agents were not
accredited to be part of the exercise. Their prayer to the court and the party
is simple: cancel the exercise.
The group is also not happy about that they have only
received “minimal attention” from the party’s leadership.
Ime Effiong Ekanem, the aspirant who instituted the suit on
behalf of others, said: “I cannot allow the will of majority of Akwa Ibom
people to be swept under the carpet as if they do no matter. Democracy is the
government of the people by the people. Therefore, we will not allow a few
people to impose their will against the interest and the overall good of the
people.
“It is the will of the good people of Akwa Ibom that the
process of electing their leaders must be transparent, credible and civil. That
was not what was witnessed on December 8 in Uyo. We say no to a system that
attempts to subvert the will of the people. This struggle is not our personal
struggle but that of every Nigerian who believes in democracy, in the purity of
its meaning and essence.”
To Akpabio, the process which produced Emmanuel was
transparent. He congratulated the Chairman of the Electoral Panel of PDP, Mr.
Bola Ayebowale and members of the PDP for a successful conduct of the
primaries, adding that Emmanuel’s victory was assured.
The governor said more than 99 per cent of PDP faithful came
out to vote, stressing that the state would do the same by giving Jonathan
their full support in 2015. Akpabio added that the transparency of the election
was an indication that peace thrives in the state.
Speaking after the primary, Emmanuel said the people have
ushered him into the next level, thanking Akpabio and the people for coming out
en-mass to support him. He lauded the PDP for the peaceful conduct of the
primary.
Oyebowale also said the process was transparent, explaining
that PDP believes in a level-playing ground for all aspirants.
To the aspirants, Oyebowale, Akpabio and Emmanuel can tell
that to the marines. The way things stand now, only the court will settle the
matter and when that is done, depending on which way it goes, it will have a
backlash. If it favours the governor’s camp, the aggrieved will have to decide
whether or not to stay in PDP.
The waiting game continues.
Culled from The Nation newspaper
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