Gov Eno gives out cash, appointments to pacify PDP members in Akpabio’s LGA

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has doled out millions of naira and appointments to pacify members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Essien Udim Local Government Area who “lost out” in the just-concluded local elections.

The Senate President Godswill Akpabio, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is from Essien Udim.

An ad hoc official of the election commission in Akwa Ibom had declared the PDP candidate winner of the chairmanship election in Essien Udim, but the commission later reversed itself and announced the APC candidate as the winner, a development that put the election credibility into question.

Meanwhile, the PDP won in 30 of the 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom.

Michael Afangideh, regarded as Essien Udim’s political leader, told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday that the PDP, not the APC, won the chairmanship election in the council area.

He accused the PDP leadership in Akwa Ibom of using Essien Udim to do “trade by barter” with Mr Akpabio.

What Mr Afangideh meant is that Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and the PDP leaders in the state allowed the APC to “take” Essien Udim because of Mr Akpabio and the governor’s political interest in 2027.

“PDP won in all the wards,” he said. “After some time, another announcement came from somewhere in APC, they said the leader of (the) APC (Akpabio) wanted Essien Udim, that they should give him Essien Udim.

“The man in the APC with smaller votes was declared the winner.”

Mr Afangideh said many youths from the local government area barricaded a major highway on Sunday to express their disapproval of the election commission’s declaration.

He said he, too, was not happy about the declaration that the APC won in Essien Udim, but there was not much he could do about it because age “has slowed him down.” He said he is 106 years old.

‘Settlement’ from Governor Eno

Mr Afangideh told PREMIUM TIMES that Governor Eno had invited him and PDP members from Essien Udim for a meeting on that Wednesday at Government House Uyo to discuss matters related to the election in the council area.

At the meeting on Wednesday evening with Mr Afangideh and others, Governor Eno told the aggrieved PDP members that allowing the APC to “take” Essien Udim in the local election was to show “respect” to Mr Akpabio because of his office as the Senate president, a source familiar with what was discussed at the meeting told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Eno promised to compensate, through appointments in his administration, the PDP councillorship candidates who could not win the election, including others.

A few hours after the meeting, the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Enobong Uwah, issued a statement announcing the appointment of nine people from Essien Udim as personal assistants to the governor and two more people from the area as special assistants to the governor.

Mr Afangideh’s son, George, was appointed personal assistant to the governor on protocol, while his (Afangideh’s) wife, Theresa, was appointed personal assistant to the governor on domestic matters.

Another source familiar with the meeting disclosed that the governor gave the visiting team from Essien Udim N20 million to hold a “peace meeting” when they returned to their community.

“I think the governor spent over N50 million to pacify them,” the source said. “Even Senator Akpabio sent in some money to the people and begged that they should allow peace to reign.”