Akpabio: Going, Going, Going? *How The Udoms Are Messing Him Up
Just when Senator Godswill Akpabio, the immediate past minister of Niger Delta Affairs thought he was going to be on the ballot and had started plotting how he would face the Emmanuel Enoidem and the PDP in next year’s election, he has been hit by some strange bullets.
He is now fighting the last lap of his political battle within his party man, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, DIG, Udom Ekpoudom. The man seems to be giving Akpabio some sleepless nights, further making nonsense of the former governor’s touted political powers.
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In 2019, Udom Emmanuel, governor of Akwa Ibom State and his PDP messed up Akpabio in the political firmament. His dream of returning to the senate under the banner of the APC was cut short as Udom unleashed the political machines on Akpabio, rubbishing all the acclaimed political clout and sagacity of Akpabio. Perhaps, Akpabio never believed he could be so disgraced in a state he held sway for eight years. Even those who used to lick his butts suddenly worked against him.
Ahead of the 2023 election, another Udom is now dealing with Akpabio. He floored him Akpabio at the APC primary to emerge the party’s candidate for the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District election. Not satisfied, Akpabio went to a federal high court and got his judgement in his favour. He was excited, very excited that he would be on the ballot. He even started dreaming of becoming senate president in the event that his party wins the presidential election.
But that dream is being punctured, as it seems. Akpabio lost out at the court of appeal while Ekpoudom won. But expectedly, Akpabio has gone to the apex court, wherein lies his last hope. It is either he wins and gets ready to face Enoidem and the PDP in February next year, or he will lose and retires home to wait and see if the APC will win the presidential election so he can be considered for another appointment.
Akpabio is however hopeful that something good will come out of the Supreme Court. In a statement he personally signed, the former minister said “my attention has been drawn to the judgement delivered by the Court of Appeal Abuja Division, directing the INEC to delist my name from their list as the APC senatorial candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District in the forth coming 2023 elections.
“It is instructive to mention that I was not a party in the said Appeal though Orders were made against me and my interest. Whilst awaiting a copy of the said judgement to be made available to me and any other interested party, it is important to state that I am a Lawyer by training and a law abiding citizen of this country and I am bound by our laws and judgements emanating from our courts including the one under reference.
“My Lawyers on my advice and brief have commenced the scrutiny of the contents of the judgement as read, for the purposes of seeking appropriate legal redress. I am aware that the Supreme Court of Nigeria has the final say in these matters. I therefore, strongly advise my supporters, APC members and all my constituents to remain calm and law abiding, as they continue their campaigns for the successes of the APC in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria at large.”
But Ekpoudom is upbeat. He believes that the appellate court has done the right thing by sacking Akpabio and affirming him as the party’s candidate.
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Hear him: “This judicial affirmation by a three-man Panel of Justices led by Justice Danlami Senchi which ruled that Godswill Akpabio, who contested in the APC presidential primary did not participate in the valid primary of the party held on 28th May, 2022 and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which produced DIG Udom Udo Ekpoudom in line with the extant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 20222 (as amended) is nothing but a validation of the collective will and aspiration of APC members in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District as expressed through the ballot at the primary.
“We welcome the judgement for not only affirming that the judiciary is indeed the last hope of the common man, but for also restoring the sanctity of the ballot, the supremacy of the Rule of Law and Due Process but for emphatically emphasizing the need for strict adherence to internal procedures and laws by Political parties who intend to file candidates for elections. We thank our teeming supporters in the Senatorial District for their show of love, loyalty and solidarity and urge all to close ranks, unite, and work for the collective success of our great party, the APC come 2023. The party, as always remains supreme and as loyal party members, the success of the party must remain paramount in our words and actions.”
If Akpabio loses at the Supreme Court, it means Ekpoudom has succeeded in sentencing him to at least four years delay in his dream to return to the senate; that is if he will have the mind to bring himself out again in 2027. But if he wins at the apex court, it means he would be at the ballot and would face Enoidem of the PDP, who is seriously with the backing of the governor and the out-going senator from the senatorial district, Senator Chris Ekpenyong.
