2015 governorship: ‘PDP backs zoning in Akwa-Ibom despite protests’

In April this year, Obong Paul Ekpo-PDP executives in Akwa-Ibom State had announced similar decision which attracted opposition from other two zones of Uyo and Ikot-Ekpene.
Though a communiqué issued at the April meeting pointed out that the decision “is without prejudice to the right of any other person from other senatorial districts to contest for the governorship seat in 2015.”
But the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) led Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu had taken a firm stand on the zoning of the governorship slot in Akwa-Ibom State as the party penultimate Wednesday backed the decision to zone its governorship slot to Eket Senatorial district.
In a statement, the PDP national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh stated that the PDP NWC had accepted the decision of the Akwa-Ibom state chapter of the party which zoned the governorship slot to Eket.
Metuh’s statement further stated that “only aspirants from Eket Senatorial zone will present themselves for the governorship primary election in the State.”
Sunday Trust gathered that the decision of the PDP NWC to uphold the zoning resolution was taken, having got assurance from Governor Godswill Akpabio that the aggrieved party chieftains of the party would be contacted ahead of the gubernatorial primary election.
The PDP national chairman, Alhaji Mu’azu was said to have also mandated the South-South Integration Committee to unite the warring factions.
However, one of the aggrieved aspirants, Umana O. Umana, who is from Uyo senatorial district, has again expressed opposition to the zoning pronouncement, stressing that it was inconsistent with President Goodluck Jonathan’s vow to ensure a level playing field for all aspirants.
But Governor Akpabio, who spoke recently at the PDP national secretariat, voiced his readiness to embrace all the aggrieved party in the spirit of reconciliation.
He said, “On our members who are against zoning in my state, I assure you that the reconciliation and integration committee is doing its best to bring everybody together.
“As a governor, I am also reaching out to anybody that I may perceive may not support the generality of the party position. In party democracy, the decision is always the position of the majority. So, I can tell you that about 99.9%  of Akwa-Ibom people are in tune with the party decision and that’s reflected even in the kind of people that bought forms for the governorship election.
“If you have up to 21 governorship aspirants today, only one might be from any other senatorial district, the other 20 are all from Eket Senatorial district which means that even the candidates, or the would be candidates have already respected the party position.
“So, that’s to show you that there is really no dissenting voice as far as Akwa-Ibom is concerned. So, there is no need to placate people who have already accepted the party position. But I can tell you something, we wouldn’t leave anybody behind. We shall create a level playing field. We want to move as a party and we want to be joyous in every sense of it. We want to be happy as we always are,” the governor added.
However, the former governor of the State, Obong Victor Attah and a former Minister of Petroleum, Don Etiebet have continued to express opposition to the zoning.
Etiebet, in a press statement, stated that the party officials deceived members that the party could select a particular zone where the governorship candidate should come from, asking that “ If they knew they were right, how come they came up with a proviso that “the right of any other person from other Senatorial Districts to contest for the Governorship seat in 2015” is sacrosanct?”
At a recent meeting with the PDP Integration Committee for the South-South, led by Senator Iya Abubakar, the aggrieved party chieftains led by Attah claimed that Governor Akpabio was planning to impose a particular aspirant in the forthcoming governorship primary election in the State.
In a follow-up press briefing jointly addressed penultimate week, by Victor Attah and Etiebet, they accused the national leadership of the party of complacency and indifference to their grievances.