“Udom is a mistake that must be corrected in 2019. All hands must be on deck to ensure that the mistake is corrected for a people-oriented leadership under the ruling All Progressives Congress at the centre," Akpabio stated.
Godswill Akpabio, former Senate Minority Leader and representative of the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District at the National Asembly, has expressed his determination to work against the re-election of Governor Emmanuel Udom in 2019.
Expressing regrets on “imposing” Udom on the people of the state, Akpabio said the current Akwa Ibom State Governor “is a mistake that must be corrected in 2019".
Akpabio stated this in an apology to a crowd of supporters at Ikot Ekpene Plaza.
The supporters were on their way back from attending Akpabio’s mother-in-law’s burial at Enugu on Sunday evening.
He said: “Udom is a mistake that must be corrected in 2019. All hands must be on deck to ensure that the mistake is corrected for a people-oriented leadership under the ruling All Progressives Congress at the centre.”
Alleging that hunger and deprivation had become the situation in Akwa Ibom since the present administration assumed power, Akpabio called for holistic action to liberate the state.
According to him, “Emmanuel’s administration has failed the people".[story_link align="left"]61831[/story_link]
In the run up to the 2015 elections, Akpabio had declared Emmanuel, then Secretary to the State Government, next in line to succeed him, and worked towards the latter's emergence as Governor even when more than 20 aspirants expressed interest in the position.
Barely two weeks ago, precisely on August 9, 2018, the day the All Progressives Congress (APC) held a rally to officially announce his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC, Akpabio, when asked on a television programme about his relationship with the Akwa Ibom Governor, had stated that they had no issues.
“No, no, no. I don’t have any issue with the current Governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency Udom Gabriel Emmanuel. He remains my Governor, and a godfather to my children," he had said.
"I don’t have any issue with him. If there are local issues, these are things we can sit down on the table and resolve. And, for me, I think of the national interest. I believe strongly that with the challenges we’re having now, all hands should be on deck."