The Special Adviser in the Akwa Ibom State Bureau of Political, Legislative Affairs and Water Resources, Ekong Sampson, a lawyer and two-term member of the Akwa State Ibom State House of Assembly, speaks on the role of his office and the preparedness of the PDP ahead of the state’s Local Government Councils election and the 2019 general election. Excerpts:
How prepared is your party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming Local Government Election, knowing that you now have a stronger opposition than it used to be in the past?
The PDP is very much prepared for Local Government Council elections. We are not under any pressure; the party is a strong presence Akwa Ibom State. We enjoy membership that straddles the larger state. We are prepared and our aspirants are prepared. Our candidates will emerge through a democratic process because ours is a democratic, led by a Governor that is a father. So, the PDP is turbo-charged to enter the arena and do what we can do, showing the strong presence in Akwa Ibom State. We will enter the race and win.
But recently, the earlier scheduled date for the election by Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC) was shifted to December 2017. How are we sure the new date will not be shifted again?
The prerogative of shifting the date for election does not lie with the party but I believe that AKISIEC is prepared for the assignment at hand.
Based on the directive of the Governor, your party had said it will do everything to ensure the party is returned to the people but recently we have seen pockets of disaffection within the local Government Areas. Don’t you think this might work against the party in the forthcoming Local Government Council polls?
PDP is a large family and if there are a few concerns here and there, that is only to be expected. But understandably, the PDP is very on ground and whatever may be there few concerns here and there can be managed. As I said earlier, we are not under any pressure, we are solidly on ground. The big ship, PDP, is firm, strong and capable.
As Special Adviser to the Governor on Political and Legislative Affairs, how are you helping the Governor to manage the notion that he, the Governor, is not a full blown politician?
If you are as close to Governor Udom Emmanuel as I am, if you have cause to interact with him, you will realized that those who hold the view the he is not a politicians are mistaken. Governor Udom Emmanuel is one man who understands the ground and the game. He is a good politician, he is a good policy make and he is a good driver of the process. As a person, your mindset may flow from such perspective but principally, our Governor is a leader who understands the ground and the game. He can read the game very well, he is a good coach in the business and he knows the tactics to deploy for a given magic so long as the initiative will enriched the democratic space. So, Governor Udom Emmanuel is a master tactician, he someone who can read the political game and can deliver. We are proud to have him as our leader. So, the space is rich, the space is set, the space is hopeful.
Recently, the former Vice President Atiku Abubakarr came out with a promise to bring about a better change for Nigerians and from the grapevine; we heard that your party, the PDP, is driving him. Is this true? Do you see him as one who is the action carrier of a better change?
Well, I am not in a position to answer that question but what I can safely say is that PDP is a big ship and we can accommodate as many as possible. We are the true drivers of democracy in Nigeria and we are one happy family. We have repositioned, we have emerged from an inclement weather turbo-charged to go into the arena and do what we can do very well, which is to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians as we take back power at the centre.
The recent Constitution amendment by the National Assembly have been said to be a commendable stride by many and one of the items that will be coming the State Houses of Assembly for subsequent amendment is Local Government Autonomy. As a lawyer, former lawmaker and Head of Council, what is your take on this?
I have worked in quite a number of arenas. I have been a Chairman of Council and also served in the state legislature. One can say, and safely so, that what is critical in Local Government administration is to have people with capacity to deliver at that level. I am an Apostle that believes only the best should be encouraged to assume the mantle of leadership at the grassroot level. In much of my advocacies, I have canvassed the opinion that stakeholders should encourage those who are capacity-driven to run the affairs of local government councils in the state. It is important because that is a critical power vault. So is expected from those who are saddled with the power at the local government level. In the ordinary sense, autonomy provides safety belt for governance, it provides safety belt against abuse. So, naturally, a lot of people have tendencies that support local government autonomy. But beyond that, there is a critical question of capacity throughout my two terms in the State Legislature; I had always articulated that institutions be strengthened to make Nigeria a better place. We cannot advance as fast as others elsewhere if we do not strengthened our institutions and this attitude defined my approach to virtually everything I said on the floor of the House for eight years. For institutions to be strengthened they need capacity to be projected and that way we can have a better society for our people.
Four critical clauses failed to sail through at the National Assembly during the Constitution amendment process. These were Devolution of Power; Land Use Act; Affirmative Action for Women, and State Creation and Boundary Adjustment. Do you think the National Assembly’s action regarding these clauses were in tandem with the wishes of the people?
I am no longer a lawmaker. I am an Adviser. I have not looked at the clauses that were in contention. When I look at the contents of the clauses, I will be better placed to speak. But one can say in broad terms that so far as it will strengthen institution, we are going to make progress. We are going to strengthen partnership and develop a culture of participatory democracy, in the true sense of it. Because the critical question that is asked from time to time is that: Have we really developed a culture where we have true participatory democracy in Nigeria? And that is where you will have well-tapped concerns from various segments of our nation’s states challenging, as it were, the fabric of our unity. So, I think these concerns should be looked into and then we have a meeting point as to how we can advance together as a country.
Your office is also saddled with the responsibility of providing portable, clean and safe water for use by the Akwa Ibom people. Have you achieved this?
We are developing a water policy which will comprehensively address the concerns in the water sector. We are working closely with Akwa Ibom Water Company and with donor agencies; we have made our counterpart funding obligations; we have completed quite a number of projects and some are ongoing. The ultimate objective is to ensure that the people of Akwa Ibom have safe and adequate water. When I was a Commissioner in my former Ministry, I conceptualized a Master Plan, designed to address comprehensively concerns of the water sector in the rural area. It is an ongoing project and thankfully we have a State Governor who is concerned with addressing the concerns of the water sector in the state. Once our water policy is in place and tailored, as it were, to address the needs of the larger segment of our people, we are going to see a lot of difference. But one can say safely now that the State Government is committed giving Akwa Ibom people access to safe adequate water.
Akwa Ibom at 30, would you really say we have kept to the dreams of our hero past? Secondly, you are a political stakeholder in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, as we approach the forthcoming local government election, how are going to work to ensure that you do not impose a candidate on your people?
Akwa Ibom has come a long way within a short time. Maybe some of us may appreciate what we have until we go outside our state. I have travelled extensively within and outside Nigeria and each time I come back I will say wow, thank God for Akwa Ibom State! We have to appreciate God for our huge endowment. We began modestly, challenged by our history of the COR State Movement, where the likes of Sir Udo Udoma, Eyo Ita, I.U Akpabio and a lot of others led the campaigns for state creation in Nigeria and we also blaze the trail as a people that we should develop our potentials when we sent out the historic Merchants of Light to go outside our shores for knowledge. They came back and did very well in their field. Between that era and now, you can validly locate the Akwa Ibom people, that as a people, we are challenged by our rich history to work to make the difference. If you were in Akwa Ibom State in 1987, maybe you went outside and returned, you would seen a lot of difference in respect of infrastructure and even in respect of attitudes. There is this new Akwa Ibom spirit that we can develop to get to the next level, the Dakkada spirit, the challenge that we can make; the challenge that we can live together as a people, and the challenge that we have huge endowment that we can explore to take our rightful place on the Nigeria map as a great people. We are grateful to God and we had to retain that attitude that God created for our display. We have a Governor in His Excellency, Udom Gabriel Emmanuel who shares deep passion to develop Akwa Ibom State. If you are close to the Governor, as some of us are, one fascinating quality that he has is his innovative spirit. He doesn’t just do what every other person does, he chart a course, he breaks new grounds, he invests in the future and to me, that is the hallmark of leadership, capacity to identify the future and invest in. that is what Governor Udom Emmanuel is doing through an expansive roadmap that will take Akwa Ibom State to the next level.
You see imposition is a freed construct, we are in a democracy and you will recall that we went round recently to return PDP to the people. After the suspends and after the Supreme Court decision, PDP has bounced back and we felt that we should move round the state to assure our people that we have returned the party to them. The response was electrifying, people came out to demonstrate clear followership and it is a consciousness that has even gone beyond Akwa Ibom State. In Nigeria, conscious attempts are being made to return the party to the people and how do you do this? It is by promoting democracy, by showing good faith. Take for example what we are doing in Akwa Ibom State; Governor Udom Emmanuel is a firm believer on zoning, because zoning provides a safety belt against injustice, against dislocations, against disconnect. The Governor has said that in taking the party to the people we should ensure that zoning is implemented. This has helped to bring down tension; it has guaranteed access to opportunities. We are even going beyond zoning; we are implementing a power sharing matrix which will reduce to the barest minimum concerns about dislocations. Through the power sharing matrix, zoning is strengthened. We zone, yes, but we also share power so that the various strands are accommodated. No section, no unit, no collective can complain of being shutoff of opportunity. So, power sharing reinforces zoning, it has broadened the space, it has reduced to the barest minimum complaints about imposition of candidates. What is the metaphor for imposition? It is denial of access to opportunity, social injustice. By articulating the power sharing matrix, greater is room is built to accommodate various components of the political space. So, the new PDP is saddled with the responsibility of reinventing Nigeria and that is why we are coming up with zoning based on power sharing so that every segment of our society is guaranteed access to opportunity.
What is your office doing to bring back aggrieved members of the party in the state back to the fold ahead of 2019 general elections?
The party, PDP, believes in reconciliation and accommodation. Personally, I am a firm believer in pursuing the inclusive agenda. So, we have reached out to quite a number of our friends who had left earlier and so many of them have returned to the PDP, so many have also indicated interest that they are coming back. Our Governor is a leader who believes that PDP should exist as a large family and we can only do this by reaching out to persons who had reasons, either personal or otherwise, to have left the party. And we have said to them, having compared note, you are safer with PDP and the response has been very encouraging. So many Akwa Ibom people who had cause to leave the party have returned. Equally, others who left have also indicated their intention to return. One, they are impressed with the innovations which Governor Udom Emmanuel has brought to governance. It has also been established that PDP is a party for Akwa Ibom people, it has a strong foothold on the state and it is a party that is well appreciated. So, principally, those who left feel that they safer coming back and quite a number of them have returned to the family, to where they truly belong. S it is now, PDP is one big strong family that is turbo-charged