Ofonime UMANAH
Less than a week after the Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno was formally received into the fold of the APC at a widely celebrated event, a Lagos based prophet, Ekong Ituen has hinted of a looming implosion in the party.
Signals to this effect are already becoming palpable though. Ituen, known for his sharp prophecies, said on Monday that people should watch out for chaos, rift and internal wrangling that may tear the party into pieces.
But some of the new followers, especially loyalists of the governor have dismissed the prophecy, saying that all political parties do have issues and it would not be strange for the APC to experience some rift in the state.
In making the prediction, Ituen had urged those who were yet to recover from the euphoria of belonging to the ruling party to stop celebrating because of what would soon befall the party.
He said: “Internal wrangling within Akwa Ibom State chapter of the All Progressives Congress is imminent as there will be division and disunity in their midst.
“In my revelation, I saw serious infighting and confusion, with conflict of political interest arising in the near future. I urge them not to rejoice yet.”
Sources within the state government and within the APC in Akwa Ibom are already painting a picture of disharmony between followers of the governor and supporters of the senate president, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Last Saturday at the event where Eno was received into the party, he was also presented to the public as leader of the party in the state; which means that Akpabio would be under him, even though the senate president is seen as the party leader in the south-south.
The APC is already believed to be divided along tribal lines. There are those who see themselves as members of the Ibibio(Eno) group, while the others are seen as members of the Annang(Akpabio) faction. Eno is Ibibio, while Akpabio is Annang.
Some of the members have expressed the concern that with what happened a day after Eno’s formal reception, Akpabio may be having his own clique within the APC.
Those in this school of thought say Akpabio had a meeting with those they call his faction of the APC in an undisclosed location in the state without the governor’s consent. They interpreted this to mean that the senate president was already spiting the governor. Loyalists of Eno were said to have missed out of whatever was the fallout of that meeting.
There is also a school of thought who believe some PDP leaders in government who have now become members of the APC were taking over the party and assuming controlling positions, while the old members have been relegated to the background.
They pointed to the list of those were selected to plan Saturday’s reception and noted that whereas old APC members were very few, the new members who joined the party with the governor stole the show and called the shots.
One commentator on social media even wrote that “the quietness of Ex Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel is getting too loud and Udom Emmanuel is not asleep and it’s just a matter of time, we will know who is ahead of who in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria.”
