Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa and Joe Effiong, Uyo
The re-election bid of Akwa Ibom State Governor Emmanuel Udom, has received a major boost as the South South governors have thrown their weight behind him.
The group also declared that the federal might, which they alleged the All Progressives Congress (APC) is banking on, will fail in the governorship election.
Chairman of the South South governors and Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, who gave the assurance at the flag off of the governor Udom’s campaign for a second term in office, in Uyo, yesterday also said all the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors are solidly behind Udom.
A statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Dickson on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, quoted him as having said all the governors would have been present in Uyo for the crucial event, but for the fact that some of them were also involved in campaigns in their respective states.
He said the South South governors were all backing the reelection bid of Udom because of his record of performance as a good product of the PDP.
The governor advised the people of Akwa Ibom to be resolute in their bid to ensure continuity and consolidation of productive governance in the state, through Udom’s reelection.
As a governor, who battled and overcame the federal might in his reelection bid in Bayelsa in 2015, Dickson said he was aware that second term elections were fraught with betrayals which shouldn’t discourage the people.
The governor, who said those who rely on federal might as their strongest credential to win election would fail in Akwa Ibom, just like they did in 2015, in Bayelsa, when the people of Bayelsa stood their ground in his reelection, which he noted was not different from a war in 2015.
“You have a good product, a good man in governor Udom Emmanuel. As someone who has gone through a second term election, there is nothing strange that you have seen. It is during second term elections that you see friends becoming enemies; this is when you see the people you have helped turning their back on you. But, you must realise the fact that second time elections are an opportunity for consolidation. I went through a tough battle, and because of your support, we had the opportunity of consolidating good governance, and that is what you need in Akwa Ibom. Bayelsa won election against the federal might; if we could do it in Bayelsa, you, too, can do it in Akwa Ibom. With this massive crowd I’ve seen, and the unprecedented support there, I’ll go back and tell them that Akwa Ibom is sure.”he said.
Meanwhile, a key co-ordinator of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign groups in Akwa Ibom and former speaker of the state Assembly, Mr Ignatius Edet, has dumped the APC and returned to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with his supporters.
Edet, co-ordinated several groups working for the reelection of President Buhari and had unsuccessfully contested the Itu Federal Constituency seat on the platform of APC, last November.
He publicly re-joined the PDP yesterday, during the kick-off of governor Udom’s reelection campaign, at the Uyo Township Stadium.