Elder Ofonimeh Isong is the publisher of The Prime Voice, an Uyo-based newspaper. He is also chairman, Uyo Senatorial District Media Practitioners Forum (USDMPF). Isong spoke with SUNNY OKIM, Executive Editor, News Express, on the controversial Sunday evening declaration by Governor Udom Emmanuel of one of his cabinet members, Pastor Umoh Eno, as his preferred candidate to succeed him in office as Governor of Akwa Ibom State, come 2023. Excerpts:

New Express: There has been so much furore since last Sunday evening when your state governor, Udom Emmanuel, openly announced his choice of successor. Don't you see the said declaration as a bit too early considering the fact that 2023 is still far away

Elder Ofonimeh Isong: Well, to me I don’t think it is too early. You may think 2023 is far, but don’t forget that the actual elections will kick off as from the end of this year. As we speak, electioneering campaigns have commenced in earnest. Any politician who tells you that he or she is waiting for INEC to tell him or her to begin to campaign is not sincere. Consultations, alignment and realignment have since commenced and are ongoing at all levels around the country and even in the Diaspora. So I don't see the governor's move as being too early in all sincerity.

Dont you think that move is likely to negatively affect the ruling party in the state?

Inasmuch as I am not a politician, I want to say that yes, some people may not be happy with the governor’s choice. Some are bound to say it should be me. Some will say why not my mentor or affiliate? There’s just no way everybody is going to be happy about it. But the fact remains that everybody cannot be the governor at the same time. The incumbent has been honest enough to say, this is my preferred candidate. Remember he didn’t say this is the next governor. The actual choice of who becomes governor rests on the electorate who will go to the polling booth and vote their own preferred candidates.

That is why we encourage all eligible voters to go and get their permanent voters card. At the end of the day, it’s their vote that will determine who succeeds the incumbent; it can be a candidate from any political party. The people have the final say and we should not also forget that it is only God who makes kings.

Do you think the Governor is justified by this choice in the midst of many other aspirants?

The governor is just an individual, he may be right and he may be wrong as human. But again, you and I have not occupied that seat before. By May 29 when Governor Emmanuel will be handing over the baton of leadership to his successor, whoever that may be, he would have done eight years. Yes, eight years, not eight months, not eight weeks, not eight days. Eight years is enough for anybody who wants the best for the state to know who among his disciples, so to say, can best fit in. The governor has interacted with several politicians, public servants, civil servants, contractors, bureaucrats, educationists, traditional rulers, the clergy, and all others. He is at a vintage position to know who can continue with what he calls The Completion Agenda. He should be given the benefit of the doubt. I think he means well for the state. I believe he has good intentions.

Why do you think the governor’s preferred candidate, Pastor Umoh Eno, is best for Akwa Ibom State out of many others who have also expressed their intention to serve in that capacity?

Like I said earlier, I am not a politician. I am a journalist. But the good thing is, in the course of carrying out my constitutional duties, I have come across many people from all walks of life, including politicians. Secondly, we the members of the USDMPF which I head as Chairman, took the pains to meet one-on-one with many of those who have declared their intention to contest for the office of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State. Given the chance, I can write a book on each of them. I don’t think Pastor Umoh Eno is a wrong choice. I will not say more than that so people don’t begin to read meanings into my words. I am still a journalist and not anybody’s mouthpiece. I am only speaking as a stakeholder, being an indigene of the state.

What would you advise the Governor to do to douse the tension generated by his Sunday evening pronouncement?

I believe the Governor is a politician and he knows what to do to appease his party members but not to the detriment of the state. And I don’t want to believe that he did not expect these reactions, both for and against his choice. I think he should reach out to all parties concerned and make them see reasons why he prefers a particular candidate. He should remind them that it his personal choice, not the voters’ choice. After all, there will still be party primaries before the actual election.

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