Senator Ita Enang |
By Nse Peter
Ita Solomon Enang, the Senator representing Uyo Senatorial District
of Akwa Ibom State has surprisingly declared his support for the 2015 governorship
ambition of Gov. Godswill Akpabio’s protégé, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.
Senator Ita Enang in a press briefing hurriedly organised,
Saturday, in his Ewet Housing Estate residence, Uyo, for select reporters, said
‘there’s a principle to follow the leader’, apparently referring to Gov.
Godswill Akpabio.
He did not allow reporters to ask questions, after making
his remarks.
Ita Enang and Mr. Udom Emmanuel are of the same Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP). The party is scheduled to hold its governorship primaries on 29
November, 2014 where delegates across the state will pick the party’s
flagbearer.
The senator did not say much about his second term senate
bid during the press briefing, apart from informing reporters that he has
submitted his nomination form and that he needed support from the people.
Ita Enang does not have a history of good relationship with
Gov. Godswill Akpabio. In 2011, Enang was out of favour with Godswill Akpabio
and almost lost the party ticket for the senatorial election of that year to the
then incumbent Senator Effiong Bob, but for the huge financial and political support
of Mr. Umana Okon Umana. That was his first attempt at the senate, after a
successful political career spanning several years as member, representing
Itu/Ibiono Federal Constituency in the lower chambers of the National Assembly.
Also, about four months ago, Ita Enang was engaged in a cold war with Gov. Godswill Akpabio over the new federal polytechnic in Akpabio’s hometown
in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The senator
gave the impression that he ‘requested’ the polytechnic for his hometown,
Ibiono, only for Akpabio to use his power as governor to snatch the school from
him to Ukana.
Enang during the Saturday press briefing said “I believe
that Gov. Godswill Akpabio and the people of Akwa Ibom State have today
tutored, mentored, examined and appraised one man who is a contender for the
governorship race”. That man, he said, is Udom Emmanuel, the immediate past
Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government who is from Onna Local Government
Area of the State.
The senator hitherto known for his stand that the PDP governorship
primaries in Akwa Ibom be open to all the senatorial districts of the state,
said it was time Uyo Senatorial District supported Eket Senatorial District to
produce the governor of Akwa Ibom for the first time since the creation of the
state in 1987.
Udom Emmanuel, the man Senator Ita Enang wants his
constituents to support, is facing stiff opposition within and outside PDP as
most people view his governorship aspiration as an attempt by the incumbent
Gov. Godswill Akpabio to impose him on the people as their next governor in
2015.
“I want to plead with the people of Uyo Senatorial District
to join me and most of us to declare their support for Udom Gabriel Emmanuel to
succeed Governor Godswill Akpabio,” Senator Ita Enang said, while also pleading
with all other PDP aspirants in Eket Senatorial District where Udom Emmanuel
hails from to step down for the former SSG.
Ita Enang’s sudden u-turn is expected to come as a shock to
many because it runs counter to the general thinking of the majority in Uyo
Senatorial District who believe that the PDP primaries should be thrown open
for politicians from their area to also contest, as it were in 1999 when aspirants
from other senatorial districts contested against Obong Victor Attah, from Uyo,
who eventually emerged as the party’s candidate and also in 2007 when Godswill
Akpabio, from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, won the party’s governorship
ticket.
There is suspicion that Ita Enang’s recapitulation may have
been prompted largely by Obong Bassey Albert’s latest ambition to represent Uyo
Senatorial District, after his surprise withdrawal from the Akwa Ibom governorship
race. Ita Enang and Bassey Albert are from the same Ibiono Ibom Local
Government Area.
The senator sensing that the crisis within PDP in Akwa Ibom
State may cause mass exodus to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)
and other political parties, pleaded with the people of Uyo Senatorial District
not to leave PDP. “We have a great prospect in PDP,” he said.
For the 2015 governorship race, the zoning controversy
seemed to have torn the ruling PDP apart in Akwa Ibom State.
Mrs. Helen Esuene (PDP), the Senator representing Eket
Senatorial District, offers what some political analysts say is an unbiased and
realistic view of the zoning debate in Akwa Ibom State.
According to Esuene who is also aspiring to become Akwa Ibom
governor in 2015, “One school of thought is that Uyo Senatorial District had
their slot in Akpan Isemin and Obong Victor Attah; Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District
is currently enjoying its second term and that it is only fair that Eket
Senatorial District should take the next turn.
“The other line of thought is also saying that when Dr.
Godswill Akpabio contested, other people from other senatorial districts also
aspired and the aspiration was not exclusive to Ikot Ekpene senatorial district
and that nobody should be excluded from aspiring. The two lines of thought are
correct and it is now left for the electorate to decide what they want. This is
because what both groups are saying is correct.”
“I want to plead with the people of Uyo Senatorial District to join me and most of us to declare their support for Udom Gabriel Emmanuel to succeed Governor Godswill Akpabio,”
ReplyDeletein return for what? your own return to the senate...............go it alone my friend,leave ibibios out of your crap............