INDEPENDENT NG
On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, Akwa Ibom State recorded a great feat when former Governor Godswill Akpabio emerged the tenth President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
That was an outcome of well calculated politics by Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District that even had to jettison zoning while voting just as key players in the race like Rt. Hon (Bar) Emmanuel Enoidem, PDP Senatorial candidate, after losing his bid to the red chamber, conceded defeat and would therefore not challenge Chief Akpabio at the Tribunal.
Such precision by the Annangs and rare act of sportsmanship by Enoidem as an individual, spared Chief Akpabio the distraction occasioned by appearances at the Tribunal and made time available for him to lobby and win the top seat.
Akpabio’s victory as President of the tenth Senate is a pride to Akwa Ibom State which perhaps explains why His Excellency, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, dropped his party garb, congratulated and paid a solidarity visit to him on behalf of the government and the good people of the state. That again is rare. The line of politics in Akwa Ibom State (actually from Akpabio’s era) has been such that government and opposition saw no good in each other. They never collaborated for development and the people have always been at a loss.
Pastor Umo Eno just proved the point that politics, party politics and governance can be complimentary instead of being antagonistic, destructive and that the time is ripe to actually build on the foundation of peace and reconciliation that his predecessor, ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel laid.
I have read a number of persons commending Pastor Umo Eno for reaching out and acting differently. What if this is why ex-Governor Udom Emmanuel went for him as his successor from the array of aspirants who jostled to take over from him?
Udom Emmanuel, it can be recalled, had laboured on the podium to talk about peace and reconciliation explaining that development cannot really take place in an environment of rancour. Many threw darts at him. Some picked offence and drew battle lines. He held his grounds. The steps that Pastor Eno had taken upon assumption of office, the latest being his embrace of Chief Godswill Akpabio, an Akwa Ibom made Senate President, who ironically stoutly rejected his (Umo Eno) choice as governor, shows God really guided Deacon Emmanuel on his succession path.
Chief Godswill Akpabio, the new Senate President, lost the spirit of the moment which was that of peace, unity and reconciliation as a state led by no mean person than the governor himself.
Chief Godswill Akpabio made comments intended to paint the immediate past governor of the state, Deacon Udom Emmanuel in bad light and advised the new governor not to inherit enemies he did not create.
He also created an impression of being slighted by his successor and suggested with subtlety that it will be a bad idea for Pastor Umo Eno to show loyalty to the man who paved the way for him to emerge as governorship candidate of the PDP and waded the haze to make him governor of Akwa Ibom State against strong forces like Senator Bassey Albert and John Udoedehe of the Young Peoples Party, YPP and New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP respectively.
