A Group, under the aegis of Akwa Ibom Council of Ministers, has urged Gov. Udom Emmanuel to respect the zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections.
The group made their position known at a press conference addressed by its President, Mr Joseph Nyong, in Uyo on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that on Jan. 30, Gov. Emmanuel named Mr Umo Eno as his preferred successor in 2023.
Nyong said that the group felt disappointed with the announcement and disassociated itself from the endorsement of Eno as the preferred candidate for the 2023 gubernatorial election by the governor.
He recalled that former Gov. Victor Attah, who spearheaded Eno’s endorsement was a product of the zoning system in 1999.
He wondered why Attah decided to connive with Emmanuel to scuttle the same zoning arrangements that enthroned him as governor of the state.
Nyong said that the group believed in the zoning principle and equity, stressing that equity demands that Itu/Ibiono Ibom federal constituency should produce the governor in 2023.
He said it was not proper for Emmanuel to link his preferred candidate as a choice from God, adding that God is not an author of confusion, but of equity.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that it is only Itu/Ibiono Ibom Federal Constituency that is yet to produce a governor. It is therefore equitable and fair that it should be micro zoned to the federal constituency of Itu/Ibiono.
“The God we worship is not an author of confusion nor a purveyor of crisis and disunity.
“As a God of orderliness, equity and fairness, it is incongruous and unconscionable for the governor and the so-called fathers of faith to use his name to seek validation of an obviously unpopular and unacceptable choice.
“We also express our disappointment and dissatisfaction at the pivotal role played by the duo of Obong Victor Attah and Oku Ibom Ibibio on the said endorsement.
“Attah as an elder statesman and a beneficiary of zoning, cannot blow hot and cold at the same time.
“Such endorsement does not only smack imposition and direct affront on the political will of majority of Akwa Ibom people but a clear violation of the long-standing and immutable zoning arrangements in the state,” Nyong said.
Nyong said that as a group of ministers, they will not fold their arms and watch few individuals mortgage the peace and stability enjoyed in the state.
He called on those calling themselves fathers of faith to desist from using God’s name to deceive gullible Akwa Ibom people.
“We want to categorically state here that for the purpose of emphasis, that as a church, we will not fold our arms and watch few individuals mortgage the peace and stability enjoyed in the state,” he said. (NAN)
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