The former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio has lashed out at his kinsman and former minister of petroleum resources, Chief Don Etiebet over latter’s supposed bipartisan meeting decision against Akpabio senatorial candidacy for Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District.

Etiebet, a board of trustees member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is reported to have held a bipartisan meeting in his residence in Uyo, at which a communique was drawn to oppose Akpabio’s attempt to return to the senate on the grounds that the slot has been zoned to Abak federal constituency which has not produced a senator since I963.

The meeting had reportedly endorsed Mr Emmanuel Enoidem of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Abak Federal Constituency.

But reacting to the communique, Akpabio, through his campaign council. has in a press release signed Mr Joe Iniodu of the media/publicity directorate, said Etiebet does not have the capacity to convene a meeting capable of muffling his (Akpabio’s) political ascendancy

In the release with the title “Etiebet’s Purported Bipartisan Decision, Another Act of Dissembling.” the Akpabio’s campaign council

said they have been once again confronted with “a phoney report said to have been the outcome of a ruse, ostensibly suggesting that there was a meeting that birthed a spurious document erroneously credited as a communique adopting a position against Senator Godswill Akpabio in the upcoming senate election of 2023 “.

“The said report which is vacuous and lacking in factual data lied egregiously, turning the report into a misleading document that is worthless in value and untenable to posterity.

“The report which lacks originality follows the trend of a familiar rehash of entitlement mentality adumbrated with a shadow curious caveat of “turn”, not capacity and capability which are the progressive prerequisites/values that Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District and indeed Akwa Ibom State need at this material circumstance of its efforts towards national integration.

“Senator Godswill Akpabio Senatorial Campaign Council is at a loss to note that the name of our very exposed, experienced, and educated Elder statesman could be touted in the charade that was misguidedly called a “bipartisan meeting” without a rebuttal or clarification from Atuekong Don Etiebet himself, forcing the campaign council to construe that the anti- party act and illegality may have been cobbled with him as leader to satiate the crude sentiments of Akpabio haters. We are mortally shocked to know that Atuekong Don Etiebet is still a part of that pack of haters but at what cost and detriment?

“The statistical deficiency in the communique gives the report away as a hollow document as no other name outside Don Etiebet is clearly mentioned in this purported bipartisan coalition that has resolved to vote the candidate of PDP.

“The question is, don’t the other ones have names outside the bogus aliases of former and serving this or that with non- credited with a name? What kind of subterfuge is that in the 21st century?

“The Campaign Council challenges Atuekong (Etiebet) to publish the names of those that were a t the so-called meeting. It is shocking that our dear Atuekong Don Etiebet would lend his supposedly revered name to this inscrutable charade and proceed to champion it.”

The Campaign Council stressed that “Atuekong Don Etiebet does not command the followership to convoke a meeting of Abak 5 that can reach a resolution against Senator Godswill Akpabio in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.”

” The two personalities have held public office and the impacts they both made are measurable. The court of public opinion is in a position to recall and judge who served her better and who should call the shots today.

“This was why the people of Oruk-Anam, a local government in Abak-5 and Etiebet’s home local government came out en masse to receive Senator Akpabio on January 25 when the latter went there on ward tour. The excited crowd that turned out constitutes the voters and they were unequivocal in their support for Akpabio. If Etiebet can not convince people of his local government against Akpabio, where else would he succeed with his anti Akpabio sentiments?”

They however warned Etiebet as a caucus leader of APC of the consequences of convening recalling that while a leader of National Centre Party of Nigeria (NCPN), “chieftains of his party, Abdullahi Mogaji and Kenny Martins were accused of hobnobbing with a certain politician at the detriment of Etiebet thereby exhibiting tendencies of disloyalty and he is said to have wielded the big stick against them. Atuekong Don Etiebet should be reminded that party rules have not changed any fundamentally.”

“We cannot also forget how Atuekong Don Etiebet broke moral and political conventions in this same Akwa Ibom State State by introducing the lexical item called consensus and using it to truncate the people’s will. Sadly for him, the people know better today and are determined to resist such hegemonic imposition.

“Godswill Akpabio Senatorial Campaign Council takes the liberty to state that Etiebet’s claim is a ruse and has no potential for any form of realization. The people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District should continue to subscribe their support to their illustrious son, Senator Godswill Akpabio and prepare to vote him to represent them in the 10th Senate of 2023.

“Akpabio is a pride of Abak 5, a pride of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District and a pride of Akwa Ibom State and no conspiracy no matter how formidable can change or alter public affection for him.

“Let no concocted report about any spurious meeting agitate the mind of any son or daughter of the senatorial district. The people of the Senatorial District are standing firm with Akpabio. He who God has blessed, no man can curse.

“Akpabio’s campaign council once again thanks its teeming supporters and urge them to disregard the spurious communique while continuing to work for Akpabio’s victory come February 25, 2023.” The release said. (Daily Sun)

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