Firstly, we want to thank all the revolutionaries and supporters of zone B chairmanship mandate in Esit Eket for observing the one week mourning in honour of our late son, brother and former local government chairman late Chief Ibanga Etang, who died in active service as the Executive Director of Finance and Administration of Niger Delta Development commission (NDDC). May his soul rest in perfect peace- Amen.
Earlier this morning our attention was drawn to a paid, bias and unbalanced writ-up by one Pastor Osondu Ahirika, a supposed man of God, on the current political crisis that is blowing hot in Esit Eket Chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the caption, 2023: ESIT EKET BOILS.
This write-up is clearly a paid job to make it look as if Rt.Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh is pursuing a selfish 3rd term agenda while completely ignoring the inordinate ambition of Mr. Iniobong Robson Nnamso ( Etebe), who is bent on perpetuating himself in Office against our Chairmanship zoning arrangement.
Ordinarily we would not have responded to this, but it behooves on us to put the records straight for the purposes of enlightening the unsuspecting public who may be deceived into swallowing some distorted parts of Pastor Osondu Ahirika’s essay hook, line and sinker.
We will not in any way blame Osondu for the distortion of some facts about the crisis in Esit Eket because we are aware that he is only writing what he has been fed with and paid for by the real enemies of PDP and Governor Udom Emmanuel in Esit Eket.
To start with, Rt. Hon.Usoro Akpanusoh our revered son and a two term member representing Esit Eket/Ibeno State Constituency in Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly is not the problem of Esit Eket. The real problem of Esit Eket and the reason it is burning is the PDP political leader, Elder Benjamin Udobia; his godson, Mr. Iniobong Robson and the APC returnee self styled deputy political leader, Barr. Ime Okon Dan alias Barr. Bassey Dan Abia jnr.
Before the return of democracy in 1999 and up till 2003/2004, Esit Eket was a perfect example of a chaotic local government Area during local government Elections. The UNCP/NCPN elections of 1997 and that of PDP/AD local government elections in 1999 speak volume of this fact.
Let it be known that NCPN and AD, an opposition party won the aforementioned local government elections through the elections of Rt.Hon. Ayanga Edet Ayanga and Late Hon. Udo Edukere as Executive chairman respectively. The former is the only surviving former elected local government chairman in the pre-1999 local government regimes in Esit Eket.
It is on record that it was for the sake of justice, Equity, fairness and peaceful coexistence of Esit Eket people that our leaders from all political party leanings came together an agreed on a zoning arrangement that led to the partitioning of Esit Eket into three geopolitical political zones of A, B and C.
The current PDP crisis and the reason Esit Eket is boiling is 2020 local government Elections and the effrontery of the political godson of Elder Benjamin Udobia ,the current Executive chairman of Esit Eket local government Area, to truncate our age long chairmanship zoning arrangement which rotates amongst the three geopolitical zones having served as transition chairman from 2015 to 2017 and 2017 till date.
FIRST CYCLE OF ZONING
It will interest you to know that it was the for the sake of Elder Benjamin udobia that the first chairmanship zoning arrangement of Esit Eket was zoned to Edo in zone A, which his brother the late Hon. Imo Udobia who was the least qualified emerged chairman even when major contenders like Dr. Inyang Dan Abia a seasoned medical practitioner and Hon. Emem Edoho a business mogul and former NAAKISS worldwide president were in the PDP primaries race. The late Hon. Victor Bassey Isangedighi and late Hon. Ibanga Etang later emerged as Executive chairman from zone B and C respectively and this ended the first cycle of zoning in 2015.
For the records, in 2015 zone c should have retained the transition chairmanship position because at the expiration of the tenure of late Imo Udobia and late Victor Bassey. Hon. Okon Edoho Udo and Late Hon. Friday Nelson Inwang were appointed transition chairmen from zone A and zone B respectively. So, why was zone C denied the transition chairmanship in 2015? These are questions we in zone c have been asking till today.
SECOND CYCLE OF ZONING
Having denied zone C their transition chairmanship right in 2015, The current Executive chairman was appointed transition chairman from 2015- 2017 and was elected from 2017 till date, his tenure will expire in December and the chairmanship will rotate to zone B. It is the daylight attempt to rob zone B people their chairmanship right that is the root cause of the crisis today in Esit Eket.
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2023 HOUSE ASSEMBLY SEAT
It is also on record that the chairmanship zoning has nothing to do with state House of Assembly seat, House of Representatives or senate seat. That was why the chairmanship of Esit Eket rotated to zone B in 2008 even when Hon. Eseme Eyiboh from zone B was elected to the House of Representatives and in 2012 we elected late Hon. Ibanga Etang as Executive chairman from zone C even when Hon. Bassey Dan Abia jnr. from zone C was elected to the House of representatives in 2011.
Barr. Bassey Essien former Speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly from zone C was elected to the state House of Assembly in 1999-2003 but take note that during this period Esit Eket was not partitioned into geo-political zones and from 2015 till date Hon.Usoro Akpanusoh from zone B has been in the House of Assembly.
The House Assembly seat is zoned between Esit Eket and Ibeno and if in 2023 Ibeno decides to cede the Assembly seat to Esit Eket in hope of occupying the Eket Federal constituency seat in the National Assembly then a zone A person has the right to contest for House of Assembly in 2023.
The name calling and peddling of lies against Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh as seeking for third term should be totally disregarded, how can a man who is still representing his people effectively in the House of Assembly be talking about 2023, when he is not up to a year in his second term? This imaginary third ambition remains a figment of the imaginations of Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh traducers.
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HON. USORO AKPANUSOH AND HIS ALLEGED ROMANCE WITH APC
This is not the first time and this will not be the last time Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh will be falsely accused to be romancing or better still defect to APC. This same falsehood has been peddled since 2015. How can a man who is a founding leader of PDP in Esit Eket and has contributed immensely to the electoral triumph of the party since 1999 abandon a house he had built over the years now? As we all know the real APC defectors and returnees in PDP are the ones accusing Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh of planning to defect to APC.
NEPOTISM AND CLAN CHAUVINISM BY PDP POLITICAL LEADER
As major stakeholders, who contributed in no small measure to the successes of PDP in Esit Eket since inception of the current democratic regime in 1999, we won’t sit down and watch the PDP political leader steer the PDP ship in Esit Eket to wreckage.
In 2015, Elder Benjamin as ACA champion, myself as state youth leader of ACA and Late Hon. Ibanga Etang as local government coordinator of ACA were the pioneers and engine rooms of Governor Udoms campaign in Esit Eket but immediately after the elections Elder Benjamin Udobia started hunting and ostracizing all of us, this led to defection of Late chief Ibanga Etang to the APC.
How can one man thinks he can sit down alone and foist the State officer of the party, Chapter chairman of the party and all the ward Executives on all of us? No it is not possible!.
The Governor gave Esit Eket 14.7 kilometres of road construction and zone C where I come from has no road construction from the administration we all suffered for, but the PDP political leader diverted 12.7 kilometres of road to his village alone in zone A and only 2 kilometers in zone B. What of the lopsided political appointments, jobs, contracts and employment opportunities that has favored only one zone, have they also told Osondu Ahirika all this? We are tired of the wickedness meted on us by the PDP political leader in Esit Eket and we are all out to expose his nepotistic, clannish and pretentious style of leadership.
Barr. Bassey Dan Abia jnr. who abandoned Governor Udom and defected to APC and later came back one week to the 2019 elections was made the secretary of PDP Congresses committee in Esit Eket, how do you want party faithful to feel? The original result monitored by INEC during the ward congresses were falsified and replaced with names of stooges and you want us to be happy?
Barr. Bassey Dan Abia jnr. started the business of arresting perceived enemies that are against the truncation of zoning in Esit Eket. He arrested Prince Akan Etteudo the PDP youth leader in Esit Eket and Titan Asiquo at the behest of the political leader on false charges of defaming him in the social media and you want us to be happy ? But these are the same people sending small boys to be insulting us and Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh on facebook , one Michael Alfred who returned from APC after the 2019 elections and who claims to be PDP publicity secretary of PDP in Esit Eket is insulting Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh everyday on Facebook, his younger brother samuel Alfred called Hon. Usoro stupid on Facebook, how will you explain that? Is this how Comrade Ini Ememobong and the National publicity secretary of PDP are doing their good job? We expect an answer from Pastor Osondu Ahirika.
SHAM PDP CONGRESSES IN ESIT EKET AND WHY WE ARE IN COURT
We are in court to seek redress and save our party in Esit Eket from collapse. We wish to state emphatically that we cannot allow a troika to decide the fate of PDP in Esit Eket. How can one man disregard other stakeholders of the party and thinks he can impose the the state officer, chapter chairman, ward chairmen and other party officers on all of us, particularly on Distinguished Senator Etang Edet Umoyo and Rt. Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh? How does it sound to you when a two term member of the state House of Assembly and a senator has no input in the party structure of their local government Area?
It is very laughable and ridiculous when Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh is accused of instituting a court case using proxies, who are these proxies? Is it myself a former secretary of Esit Eket local government Area, Prince Akan Etteudo PDP chapter youth leader, Prince Isangedighe Imossan former chapter Secretary of party and Secretary of local government, Hon.Ime Robson former councillor, Hon. Imo Edet Jonah Dakkada Ambassadors coordinator and former leader Esit Eket legislative council, Pastor Godwin Idinyang Party stakeholder etc.? We are the plaintiffs and not Hon. Usoro Akpanusoh. So please leave our MP out of this.
In strength of the above, we hereby submit that for true peace to return to Esit Eket PDP, that zone B should produce the chairmanship of Local government in 2020 local government elections, The original winners of the wards and local government congresses in Esit Eket should be acknowledged and Hon.Imo Jonah should be recognized as the authentic chapter chairman of PDP in Esit Eket, PDP political leader should shun nepotism and clannish sentiments and our share of the 14.7 kilometers of roads the governor gave should be given to zone C etc.
It is only through this that Esit Eket PDP will stop boiling and the real Egunguns viz. PDP political leader of Esit Eket, his godson the Executive chairman of Esit Eket and the self styled APC returnee deputy political leader will be careful and will not enter express.
We came in Peace and we will come back in Peace.
Zone B chairmanship is sacrosanct and untouchable and on this we stand.
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Ayatollah Uyoata Azam
National Leader
Association For Better Esit Eket
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