All Progressives Congress (APC)
Abuja
Dear Mr Chairman
We don’t want Udom Emmanuel in APC
From media reports and our own intelligence, we understand that Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State is consulting APC leaders as parts of his preparations to defect to our great Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Abuja
Dear Mr Chairman
We don’t want Udom Emmanuel in APC
From media reports and our own intelligence, we understand that Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State is consulting APC leaders as parts of his preparations to defect to our great Party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Last week, he sent some of his commissioners, led by the Commissioner for Works, Mr Ephraim Inyangeyen, to broach the idea with one of our key leaders, His Excellency, Group Captain Sam Ewang (rtd).
He promised to personally visit the APC chieftain in due course. We are also aware that the governor has reached out to some of our National Leaders and senior Presidency officials, asking them to open the doors for him to join the party.
Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the millions of APC members and supporters in Akwa Ibom State, we reject Udom Emmanuel from joining our party. We wish to formally register our protest against whatsoever overtures he is making to facilitate his entry into the party. Here are a few of our reasons:
1. Udom Emmanuel is symptomatic of the failure of the PDP. He has recorded very dismal performance as governor in the last three and half years, despite the N950 billion his administration has earned from FAAC, IGR, Paris Club refunds and refunds from the federal government for federal road projects executed by the previous administration.
The governor sometimes blames repayment of inherited debts for his lacklustre performance. He lies. Truth is that he inherited N60 billion owed commercial banks and about N130 billion to contractors. But two years ago, these obligations were consolidated and restructured into Federal Government bonds with a long-term tenor of 30 years. The government thus makes a monthly repayment of only N300 million.
The wage bill is about N4 billion monthly. The administration receives an average of N17 billion a month from FAAC and N4.5 billion from IGR. With all these windfall, the administration has nothing to show for it. Our public schools are dilapidated, health facilities are run down and no new roads of over 5km in length has been started and completed by this administration. The governor is not only unable to build new projects; he is not even maintaining the signature assets built by previous administrations.
The well-known Ibom Hotel & Golf resort is now in a terrible state of disrepair, the quaternary hospital, Ibom Specialist Hospital, built and equipped with world-class facilities by the Akpabio administration, has been shut down. The expatriate medics have since left. According NBS figures, Akwa Ibom has the third largest unemployment figure in the country. Poverty is prevalent and rife. Many Akwa Ibomites are asking: Udom, where is our money? In fact, the EFCC should be interested in the accounts of the Akwa Ibom state government after May 29, 2019. We are glad that the anti-graft agency has been asking questions in the last two weeks or so.
2. With this monumental failure, Udom Emmanuel is of no electoral value to the APC in Akwa Ibom state. In any case, he has never won an election. He emerged as governor through a very dubious, bloody and tainted process.
His assignment as the Chairman of the PDP Governorship Election Campaign Council in Ekiti last month ended in a fiasco. Udom Emmanuel is facing a colossal failure on March 2, 2019, and so he is running into APC to seek refuge and escape political humiliation.
We will not allow it. The governor’s fall out with his godfather and political backbone, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and his inability to endear his supporters to himself and build independent structures and base over the years are his major undoing. Furthermore, what is the guarantee that Udom Emmnauel will not defect back to the PDP in 2019? He is a fickle minded politician bereft of foresight, ideas and political acuity.
3. APC has been growing in leaps and bounds in the last three years. Our membership is swelling by the day. In the last two weeks since Senator Godswill Akpabio joined the party, we have been receiving new members in droves, especially in Akpabio’s senatorial district.
Mr Udom Emmanuel has no value to add to our party. APC will defeat him fair and square in the election. We can, however, consider his membership if, and only if, he won’t contest for second term when he joins.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we wish to welcome Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio to the APC. We urge him to humble himself and work with other leaders and stakeholders of our Party to build a formidable winning force.
Signed
For on behalf of APC Leaders and Stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State
Atuekong Don Etiebet, CON
Dr. Emaeyak Ukpong
Barr. Edet Eyo Bassey
