As the Senatorial District of Ikot Ekpene prepare to host the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Deacon Udom Emmanuel to a grand rally on Monday July 16, 2018, the Chairman, Ibom Power Company Board of Directors, Engr. Etido Inyang has described the forthcoming rally as an affirmation of a definite political statement that was made about two years ago.
It is a collective decision of the people in a political series that will reach a crescendo on July 16, he revealed.
According to him, through the leadership of the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, mobilization for broadbased support for the second term ambition of Governor Emmanuel had begun barely a year after his inauguration as governor.
‘Ikot Ekpene people, like the other two districts knew and trust both the competence and capacity of the governor, so we wasted no time in giving our support to him for two terms.
‘We knew he would deliver on his campaign promises and three years after, he has proven to be an honest leader who is building an Akwa Ibom for today and the future’.
The Chairman who alluded to the entrenched ‘political convenience’ of two terms for past governors however said it wasn’t the paramount consideration in arriving at the decision. Competence, fulfilled electoral promises and capacity were the foremost consideration, he disclosed.
‘The people first assessed the governor using the yardstick of performance after his first year in office and were very impressed with his honest efforts at stirring growth and stimulating development in the state despite the national economic downturn caused by the ruling party at the centre.
‘Three years down the line, there are visible and huge gains recorded in virtually all sectors of the state’.
Speaking further, Inyang said despite pockets of ‘political criticisms’, by the opposition in the state for election purposes, Akwa Ibom people in overwhelming majority appreciate the good governance and quality leadership offered by Governor Emmanuel and are eager to renew their contract with him in 2019.
‘From economy to infrastructure, power, health, agriculture and education sectors, there are signature performances of the governor. Akwa Ibom is second only to Lagos State on the FDI list, an unbiased and independent publication that captures the growth of state economies’.
With these achievements, it is easy to galvanize support across spectrum for his re-election bid, he stated.
Justifying further the essence of the rally, the former Special Duties Commissioner declared that the political necessity that has served the state well in two previous instances when Uyo and Ikot Ekpene Districts were beneficiaries cannot be jettisoned midway. The arrangement, he opined has ensured relative peace and reduced unnecessary political tension in the state.
Ikot Ekpene is working to sustain this tradition come 2019.
‘The leadership of the District had endorsed the governor already. On July 16, what we will be doing is a show of assurance to affirm our earlier position.
‘The governor merits it and deserves it. With his remarkable strides, he is unbeatable in 2019,’ Inyang enthused.
