Elders and political leaders in Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have chosen to remain silent in the face of social media engagement by some natives over the possibility of allowing the current member of the state house of assembly, Emem Udom to return for a second term in 2027.
Since the beginning of the current democratic experiment in 1999, nobody from the local government has won a re-election for the same house of assembly seat in the local government.
The seat has always rotated between the Afaha and Ukanafun bloc, just as the local government chairmanship position. Even those who were largely believed to have done very well during their first term as legislators were not allowed to secure a re-election.
The late Okon Uwah was at the verge of getting re-elected before his untimely death. In 2023, Dr Charity Ido who was believed to have served very well was also denied a second term election, as the political leaders insisted that it was an anathema.
Before her, the likes of Elder Aniekan Akpan, currently the chairman of a faction of the PDP in the state, as well as Obong Saturday Akpan, now a respected political leader in the area, had also served for a term each, in the house of assembly. They could not secure a re-election.
When Udom came into the picture in 2023, he was greeted with the same scenario. Apparently, that was the only thing that made her secure the PDP ticket at the time. Today, all of them have moved into the APC.
In the last one month, there has been a debate on the possibility of allowing Udom to break the jinx. While some have stressed the need for the constituency to begin to have ranking members in the House, others have argued that the unwritten agreement could not just be swept off with a hand wave.
A lawyer and prolific write from the local government, Mr Ufok Ibekwe, revalled on his facebook wall, how difficult it has been for anyone to win a re-election into that constituency. he said “there is a place in Akwa Ibom where political ambition comes to bleed. Not just bleed. It screams. Then dies. Drowns in the very river of supports that once lifted it high. That place is Ukanafun. A constituency sown with dragon’s teeth where revolt springs from the soil the moment incumbency grows too comfortable. A field planted with land mines that detonate only when a second-term dream steps forward with swagger.
“To seek a second term here is to fly like Icarus too close toward the sun and get crushed by the heat. The wax melts. The applause fades. The fall is certain. And the ground remembers every crash. Second-term politics in Ukanafun is like hugging a porcupine. The embrace promises warmth, but the quills always draw blood. Leaders stretch out their arms in hope, only to recoil in pain when the covenant tightens its grip. It comes joyfully and goes painfully.
“This is the land that consumed Dr. Charity Ido. She captured the House of Assembly seat in 2019. She walked tall. But when 2023 came calling, the constituents rendered their verdict. One term. Finished. Enough. Elder Aniekan Akpan, current factional state chairman of the PDP, suffered the same fate in 2015. His second-term ambition perished in a sea of sorrows. The pattern is as consistent as the tides. Ukanafun gives. Ukanafun takes away. If you resist, the battle becomes scorched earth.
“Today, Hon. Emem Udom stands at that same cliff edge. For nearly three decades, Ukanafun has enforced a one-term covenant, rotating power between its two blocs. Fair in theory. Fatal in practice. Freshmen arrive, learn the ropes, and vanish, leaving the constituency perpetually at the beginners’ table while other districts consolidate power and influence.
“For 28 years by 2027, the one-term experiment has been tested. By constantly changing representatives, Ukanafun remains a political infant in a house of grown men. Legislative seniority is leverage. A first-timer learns corridors. A ranking member controls them. A second term would make Emem Udom a Ranking Member, qualifying him for principal officer positions—Speaker, Deputy Speaker, House Leader. This brings significantly more resources to Ukanafun than any freshman could achieve. But will Ukanafun people recalibrate their granite zoning covenant?”
The he added: “Granting Hon. Emem Udom a second term is not a betrayal of tradition. It is an evolution toward progress. Ukanafun must choose: the comfort of a broken covenant, or the audacity of continuity. Will Ukanafun continue hugging the porcupine until it bleeds perpetually? Or will it finally dare to outfly Icarus and discover that not every ascent ends in fire? The answer will define whether Ukanafun remains a graveyard of continuity or rises as a laboratory of strategic power…”
His position got a reaction from Mr Ikpongifono Akpanukoh, another native. In responding to Ibekwe’s post, Akpanukoh said “the reality now is that one can secure a principal office even as a first timer if you are adept at legislative business and most importantly favored by the system. Conversely, a ten-term member who lacks competence or “the eye of the Governor” will still remain a back bencher. You are experienced in politics and if you can bring yourself away from sentiments, you scarcely have any good argument against this position. According to Wike, Minister of FCT, ” if e didn’t’ dey, e didn’t dey”
“Let us look at the facts. You would agree that both Hon Aniekan Akpan and Hon. Charity Ido were Chairmen of the Public Accounts Committee in their first terms. This committee is arguably the most powerful committee in the House, and it is never given out carelessly, but they earned it because they knew the business and were favored by the system.
“Indeed, the same system offered them the Speakership position if they could return to the house again. This was well known to us, but we rejected it, in preference to our rotation covenant. Meanwhile, have you forgotten that even Hon Prince Ukpong Akpabio of Essien Udim was not barred from contesting for the position of speaker of the house and he only narrowly lost that position in his first term?
“If “ranking” was the only way to get resources, why were these first-timers given the keys to the treasury? Your argument falls apart under the weight of this history. Let me even ask: Why was the “ranking” gospel a heresy in 2015 and 2023 when we had the speakership within our grasp, yet today it is being preached as our only salvation?
“I dare say that our problem isn’t the zoning covenant, rather it is the cunning, deceptive nature of these shifting arguments. It suggests that only one political bloc is “wise” enough to lead this so-called evolution. It would be better you allow us to remain quiet as it were and let God’s will prevail than to provoke the people with such rhetorical propaganda.”
He questioned the performance of Udom, between 2023 and now, in comparison with the performance of those who were denied a re-election in the past. To him, those before him did visible things but were denied a re-election opportunity.
“Where is Hon. Emem Udom’s record of such open empowerment as we approach the end of his term? That’s the one that will be seen and verified immediately than putting us on a task of verifying imaginary projects.
“If he hasn’t used his first term to build a “verifiable” legacy, a second term will not magically grant him competence. Telling him to “take a bow” based on unverified claims while ignoring the very traditions of accountability we have upheld for decades is a great disservice to our constituency.”
TNN made efforts to speak with some political leaders from the constituency on the matter, but they were not willing to speak. The only person who accepted to talk about it insisted on not being quoted.
But he said recent political developments in the state pointed to a sharp departure from events of the past, especially under the PDP. He said since all the gladiators had moved into the APC, it was difficult to take certain decisions in the area of zoning of political offices.
