Previous edition... 2015 governorship: Akpabio reaches out to Effiong Bob By Franklyn ISONG The chairman of governing council of the University of Benin, and two-term Senator representing Uyo senatorial district, Senator Effiong Dickson Bob may clinch the ministerial slot of Akwa Ibom State, if indications reaching this paper are anything to go by. We gathered reliably from our government house sources that the state governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio has reconciled with the former two-term senator who represented Uyo senatorial district at the national assembly, Abuja, and has nominated him to replace the former minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Ewa. Ewa, an Oro man, was among the nine ministers sacked last week by President Goodluck Jonathan. Although, the presidency did not offer any reason for Ewa’s sack, we can say authoritatively that it was unconnected to his 2015 governorship ambition. Our sources hinted that Sen. Bob who also nursed a similar ambition has dropped it after the former secretary to state government, Obong Umana Okon Umana fell out with the governor and was fired in July. Bob, we learnt, has an issue to settle with Umana, his Nsit Ubium kinsman, for contributing to the failure of his third-term senatorial ambition in 2011. This paper gathered that the moment Akpabio fired Umana from office; he reached out to Bob through some Uyo stakeholders and initiated a peace meeting with him, which was fruitful. The governor, we learnt, was not comfortable with reports reaching him daily on Umana’s political ambition despite his (governor’s) position that the governorship seat is zoned to Eket senatorial district in 2015, thus, the Effiong Bob factor was brought in. Bob has a large political structure across the state and large followers in Nsit Ubium local government as well as Uyo senatorial district where he represented 8 years at the hallow chambers of the National Assembly. Political analysts say that with Sen. Bob in Akpabio’s camp, the 2015 governorship ambition of the former SSG may suffer a major setback. Vol. 1 No. 4
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 08:48:24 +0000
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