Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has doled out millions of naira and appointments to pacify members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Essien Udim Local Government Area who “lost” in the just concluded local elections.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is from Essien Udim.
An ad hoc official of the electoral commission in Akwa Ibom had declared the PDP candidate the winner of the presidential election in Essien Udim, but the commission later reversed course and announced the APC candidate as the winner, a development that called into question the credibility of the election.
Meanwhile, the PDP won in 30 of the 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom.
Michael Afangideh, considered the political leader of Essien Udim, told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday that the PDP, not the APC, won the presidential election in the council area.
He accused the PDP leaders in Akwa Ibom of using Essien Udim to carry out “barter trade” with Akpabio.
What Afangideh meant was that Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and PDP leaders in the state allowed the APC to “take over” Essien Udim because of Akpabio and the governor’s political interest in 2027.
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“The PPD won in all districts,” he said. “After a while, another announcement came from somewhere in APC, they said that the leader of (the) APC (Akpabio) wanted Essien Udim, they should give him Essien Udim.
“The APC man with the fewest votes was declared the winner.”
Afangideh said many youths in the local government area blocked a major highway on Sunday to express their disapproval of the electoral commission's statement.
He said he too was not happy with the declaration that the APC won in Essien Udim, but he could not do much about it because age “has held him back.” He said he is 106 years old.
Governor Eno's 'Deal'
Afangideh told PREMIUM TIMES that Governor Eno had invited him and members of the Essien Udim PDP to a meeting that Wednesday at the Government House, Uyo to discuss matters relating to the elections in the council area.
In Wednesday night's meeting with Afangideh and others, Governor Eno told aggrieved PDP members that allowing the APC to “take away” Essien Udim in the local elections was to show “respect” to Akpabio because of his position as president of the Senate. , a source familiar with what was discussed at the meeting told PREMIUM TIMES.
Eno promised to compensate, through appointments in his administration, the PDP councilor candidates who failed to win the elections, including others.
A few hours after the meeting, Akwa Ibom State Secretary to Government, Enobong Uwah, issued a statement announcing the appointment of nine persons from Essien Udim as Personal Assistants to the Governor and two more persons from the area as Special Assistants to the Governor. .
Mr. Afangideh's son, George, was appointed personal assistant to the governor on protocol, while his (Afangideh's) wife, Theresa, was appointed personal assistant to the governor on internal affairs.
Another source familiar with the meeting revealed that the governor gave the visiting Essien Udim team N20 million to hold a “peace meeting” when they returned to their community.
“I believe the governor spent more than N50 million to pacify them,” the source said. “Even Senator Akpabio sent some money to the people and begged them to allow peace to reign.”