………..Akpabio, Udoedeghe extend battle for Akwa Ibom APC structure
Ubong Sampson — Uyo
Barring any intervention by perhaps the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Akwa Ibom state chapter of the party will be run in parallel by three different chairmen and state executives.
This is following the outcome of Saturday, October 16, 2021 party’s state congress which had three different people emerging winners from three parallel congresses.
From the congress at Kara event center along Goodluck Jonathan boulevard in Uyo, the state capital, Steven Ntukekpo emerged winner, after being endorsed by a supposed opponent, Victor Antai who stepped down for him shortly before the contest began.
Ntukekpo is from Mkpat Enin local government area of the Akwa Ibom South (Eket) Senatorial District in the state and had served the party as state youth leader during the Adams Oshiomole reign.
From another congress held at Sheer Grace Arena along Nsikak Eduok avenue, Uyo, Austin Ekanem emerged winner. Ekanem is from Ibiono Ibom local government area and had served the party as state secretary in the same EXCO Ntukekpo served as youth leader.
At another congress organised by the Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang in an undisclosed location, Douglas Elewe Pepple was announced winner.
Enang who served two terms in the House of Representatives and a term in the Senate, is rumoured to also have interested in clinching the party’s ticket for the 2023 gubernatorial election in the state.
Meanwhile, a former governorship aspirant in the state under the Accord Party, Bishop Samuel Akpan also emerged winner from a congress he reportedly held at the party’s state secretariat, along Ikot Ekpene road in Uyo.
Akpan also was Special Adviser on Political Affairs to Godswill Akpabio as governor.
A member of the party who is serving in one of the federal boards recently constituted by President Buhari, disclosed to our reporter that Akpan was promised the chairmanship seat by Senator James Udoedeghe, the current national secretary of the party’s caretaker committee, but sensing he was going to be played, took his destiny in his hands by arranging his own version of the congress.
Niger Delta Searchlight can authoritatively confirm that the ongoing confusion in Akwa Ibom APC is consequent upon clashes of interests and battle for control of the party’s structures in the state which has been ongoing for a while. The same battle had caused the party to produce two and in some case, three chapter chairmen during its last local government congress, consequently having more than 62 chapter chairmen emerging from the 31 local government areas in the state.
Prior to the 2019 elections, Senator Udoedeghe who was interested in the party’s ticket for the gubernatorial election to challenge the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its incumbent governor Udom Emmanuel’s second term bid, had his chances ruined when Akpabio defected to the party from the PDP.
Upon joining the party, Akpabio had thrown his full weight behind Nsima Ekere, then chairman of NDDC who, like PDP’s Udom Emmanuel, is from the Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District that was favoured by the zoning arrangement in the state to have the seat for another four years.
This did not go down well with Udoedeghe, who lost out of the contest.
Upon getting a chance back into relevance through his appointment in the national caretaker committee of the party, Udoedeghe had begun setting structures in the state to reclaim control of the party, as it was during the days of ACN (Action Congress of Nigeria), as well as the early APC days shortly before the 2015 elections.
It is almost a confirmed fact that Udoedeghe, who has been a recurrent governorship aspirant since 2011, when he got the candidacy of the then ACN to challenge Akpabio’s second term, is still interested in the Hilltop Mansion, especially as the zoning arrangement which has been on senatorial district basis, now favours his Akwa Ibom Northeast (Uyo) Senatorial District to produce the next occupant of the seat in 2023.
However, his efforts to regain a firm grip of the party has been stiffly resisted, as Akpabio who lost a second term bid to the senate before being appointed into Buhari’s cabinet, has been giving him a rattling battle for supremacy.
On the part of Senator Enang, his hold of the party appears too feeble for someone interested in the guber ticket. Prior to now, he had been on a neutral ground between both factions as a perceived safety measure. However, with the development on Saturday, it seems the presidential aide is out to establish a strong ground to bargain his chances.
While the first congress in the mention order was held by the Akpabio faction, the second was arranged by Udoedeghe, the third by Enang and the fourth by Akpan, an aggrieved member of the Udoedeghe faction.
