Nelson Effiong: Flying to victory on the wings of political treachery

By Nse Peter

Chief Nelson Effiong, the former speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, has won the PDP primary for the Eket Senatorial District election, Akwa Ibom State, but his victory, Think Akwa Ibom! gathered, is a classical example of political treachery, one that could turn around to haunt the former speaker and nail his political career to the cross, finally.

Here’s a brief story of Chief Nelson Effiong’s recent victory at PDP primary. Chief Effiong got some form of political rehabilitation from the former Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government (SSG), Mr. Umana Okon Umana who obviously needed to use the former speaker to strengthen his political network in Eket Senatorial District, for his (Umana’s) 2015 governorship campaign. The new improved Nelson Effiong would always tell anyone who cared to listen, that he was really out to see to Umana’s victory at the polls in 2015. He shrugged off accusations that his support for Umana was undermining the agitations for his own Oro ethnic group to produce Akpabio’s successor.

He was relentless in launching verbal attacks against Godswill Akpabio, because of the governor’s battle against Umana.

Soon, Nelson Effiong would become well-known and influential in many political circles within the state, and was to latter abandoned Umana for another PDP governorship aspirant, Chief Benjamin Okoko, from Ikot Abasi. He didn’t stay long there. He left Okoko too, to pitch tent finally with Akpabio, the man he had all along painted as being the devil itself. And of course, he also declared support for Akpabio’s protégé, Mr. Udom Emmanuel who has just won the PDP governorship ticket under controversial and questionable circumstances.

Akpabio gave Nelson Effiong a pat on the back for a job well-done, and rewarded him with a PDP ticket to contest for the senate, Eket Senatorial District.

Effiong’s victory at the PDP primary brought shock and anger to his kinsmen in Oro who had unanimously resolved to reject the senate position, and instead go for the governorship of the state.

Reports in some local newspapers in Akwa Ibom State say that angry Oro youth  went on protest, vandalising Effiong’s house in his country home as soon as Udom Emmanuel was announced ‘winner’ at the PDP governorship primary.

But can Chief Nelson Effiong eventually win the general election to become the next senator to represent Eket Senatorial District? Only time will tell.