RE: MALICIOUS HATE-FILLED CAMPAIGN AGAINST PDP GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE, MR. UDOM EMMANUEL For some time now, there has been an orchestrated effort by certain elements within the All Progressives Congress (APC), who traffic in lies and cheap blackmail to disparage the person of the PDP Governorship Candidate in Akwa Ibom State Mr. Udom Emmanuel, and by extension, His Excellency Chief Godswill Akpabio (CON), Executive Governor of the State. In their ill-motivated attempt to maliciously deflate the towering profile of Mr Udom Emmanuel, these merchants of falsehood have deliberately resorted to an unwarranted attack on the State’s First Lady, Her Excellency, Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio. The APC Chieftains have skewed and conflated the comment by Governor Akpabio during the inauguration of the PDP Campaigns Committees where he innocuously alluded to the point that his wife, Mrs. Ekaete Unoma Akpabio like everyone else had seen the sterling leadership qualities of Mr. Udom Emmanuel and felt the state, should appropriate those qualities in Udom in our march to achieving sustainable development. They have maliciously tried to state that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Mr. Udom Emmanuel, was discovered and brought to the state by the wife of the Governor. As seen in several media reports on campaign rallies by the APC, it is obvious that the so-called opposition machinery in the state have run out of ideas to project and market their candidates to the people of the State, and have thus resorted to propagating vile rhetoric and lies in order to confuse the good people of the state. They have failed miserably in their task. Suffice it to say that all well-meaning sons and daughters of Akwa Ibom State are acutely aware and have seen the spread and scope of the dividends of democracy doled out to the people of the State by the visionary and exemplary leadership of His Excellency, Chief Godswill Akpabio, and have decided that for the sustainability of these programmes as well as rapid agricultural and industrial revolution, Udom Emmanuel is the right person to consolidate on these gains. It is important to note that Mr. Udom Emmanuel, as Governor Akpabio has repeatedly affirmed, is a well-rounded technocrat who had acquitted himself creditably in his chosen profession, rising in quick succession to the enviable position of Director in so many financial institutions in Nigeria, Africa and the United Kingdom. It was based on the above sterling qualities, that Governor Akpabio found Mr. Udom Emmanuel a perfect replacement for Mr. Umana Umana, as Secretary to the State Government on July 31, 2013. Let us state here categorically that, within a few months in the saddle, Udom brought his experience as a manager of men and resources to bear and created a lasting impression within the machinery of government to the admiration of his colleagues, his boss and the general public. It is an incontrovertible fact that when the so-called opposition component occupied the same position that Udom later occupied, they were found wanting for the entirety of the six plus years, while Udom stole the hearts of the people in just about 15months. Given the fall in oil price and Nigerian economy being defined by a mono product-oil, the need to have a successor with the right private and public sector experience and who could deploy those contacts in repositioning our state in view of these realities thus became imperative. Udom Emmanuel having interacted with corporate honchos both at home and abroad and can effortlessly navigate his way around the stiffed -lip world of Wall Street and other international financial institutions - a man who, understands their language and culture is the right person to move the state to the next level of development. We know that the APC is carrying out its war on women as its Presidential flag-bearer believes that women should neither be heard nor seen, which was why he didnt appoint any woman during his years as the military Head of State into his cabinet. Governor Akpabio and the PDP respect women and carry their opinions very strongly and, which was why the Governor made that reference in his statement, of which meaning the APC has maliciously tried to conflate. The action of APC should alarm the Nigerian women about the manner the party views their role at the home front. As a matter of fact, they have not disguised their disdain for women and have continuously tried to relegate them to the lower rung of the ladder of success. The demonization campaign of the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State must stop, and all well-meaning women must take APC to task over this war on women. APC should tell us where they stand on women emancipation and empowerment. For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Akpabio, during his speech at the inauguration of the PDP Governorship Campaign Committees, never said that his wife discovered or brought Udom Emmanuel to the State, rather, in defining the sterling qualities of the PDP Governorship candidate, Akpabio had said that his wife, just like other indigenes of the State, urged Udom to answer the call of his people and contest for the office of the governor. It is on records that the Honourable Onofiok Luke, member representing Nsit Ubium in the State House of Assembly, had in November last year, at a meeting between the State Governor and Chairmen of PDP wards and local government chapters, openly announced that he was the first to discover the potentials in Mr. Udom Emmanuel and had made recommendations to state government over six years ago. So many people independently also advised the Governor of the State to support Udom Emmanuel as his successor based on his leadership qualities. Why is APC and their ilk singling out Ekaette Unoma Akpabio for blame on their misfortunes, is it because she is a woman? Or are the APC on a vain attempt to take our people back to the Stone Age where the place of women was believed to be only in the Kitchen? Is the APC so gender- biased that it can openly make such a scathing remark against women? Are women not also human beings and is it not the same right a man has that a woman also possesses? The Udom bandwagon is on the ascendance and more people including erstwhile political enemies are getting on board. We cannot therefore, be held responsible for the lack-luster traction that the APC has attracted since its campaign started, and casting aspersion on the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State is a severely obtuse and strategically confounding tactics. Akwa Ibom people are so intelligent and therefore not gullible to buy into such spurious argument of who was or was not the first to recommend Mr. Udom’s candidature, as the facts about this distinguished son of the state, speak for itself. Permit us to say that no longer does one earn support from the electorate based on the number of falsehood he has originated against his opponents. We hereby advise the opposition elements who are bent on capturing power through a crude fashion, to desist from name-calling and focus more on how to showcase the potentials of their candidate who for six and a half years was a key member of the Uncommon Transformation team. Finally, we wish to advise the people of the State to completely disregard such vengeful and inciting comments that tend to lower the status of women as equal citizens who are at liberty to express their opinions on issues that bother on their interest and well-being. The media professionals should be wary of such attempts by desperate politicians who wish to use them to peddle irresponsible and inciting materials that do the public no good. Mr Udom Emmanuel is not ready to be distracted by the antics of the opposition, as he is focused on putting in place plans and policy thrusts that will continue to foster Unity, Development and Onward Movement (UDOM) of our dear state. Signed: Ekerete Udoh Director of Media and Publicity Udom/Moses 2015 Campaign Organization
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 20:55:57 +0000
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