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| Udoedehe Akpabio |
The ACM accused Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, a former minister and governorship aspirant in the state as planning to disintegrate the party.
The group said it was alerting the APC national body of the plot by the former senator to destroy the party in the state.
At a press statement signed by Prince Emmanuel Sam, the group’s national chairman, and Hon. Noah Noah, its national secretary, said: “We are aware of Udoedehe’s latest gamble to create artificial crisis in Akwa Ibom APC and afterwards decamp to join his pay master, Chief Godswill Akpabio, in the mega party Akpabio and other corrupt PDP politicians are planning to form.
“Going down memory lane, in 2011, Udoedehe misled the people, claiming that ex- governor Akpabio was planning an ethnic cleansing once he emerged for a second term. Many followed him and sacrificed everything they had, material wealth, time and life, but they were repaid with treachery.
“Incidentally, ACN failed the 2011 governorship election woefully in Akwa Ibom state not because the party was not popular, but as was later found out, because the so called ‘leader’ had his hidden agenda to make money for himself at the expense of even his election.”
The group noted that after the election, the then state chairman of ACN, Hon Aniekan Akpan, opened up on how Udoedehe caused the party to fail, citing instances where the senator diverted over N2 billion meant for campaign into his personal use.
“Worse still, Udoedehe heartlessly abandoned over 40 party faithful that were incarcerated in federal prisons and others who sustained various degrees of injury during that election. As a matter of fact, the senator was nowhere to be found immediately after that election.
ACM accuses Senator Udodehe of plotting to destroy APC in Akwa Ibom
The group asked Oyegun and other top APC members to act urgently
“As at 2013, ACN was virtually dead until after the merger that formed APC. Then, Udoedehe immediately mobilized his street boys and muscled out leaders of the other legacy parties namely Dr Anny Asikpo of CPC and Chief Sam Ewang of ANPP, claiming that his party owns the lion share of APC,” the group said adding that as a result, the APC was in complete disarray in the state until the events leading to the 2015 governorship elections opened up opportunities for many politicians, including Obong Umana Okon Umana, Atuekong Don Etiebet, Senator Ita Solomon Enang, Obong Nsima Ekere - the leader of G22 and other political heavyweights and their thousands of supporters to leave the former ruling PDP to join the APC.
The political group said after others had spent their money to ensure APC’s success, Udoedehe resurfaced with claims of ownership of APC and contested in the governorship primaries. He was defeated.
“There are pictorial and published reports that prove that thereafter he actively connived with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the interest of APC in the 2015 election.
“Eventually, all through the post-election legal battle, Udoedehe was running errands for his new-found boss, Governor Udom Emmanuel, collecting paltry fees to commence distracting legal action against the governorship candidate of APC.
“Today, despite the outcome of the legal battle, Obong Umana Okon Umana, Obong Nsima Ekere, Atuekong Don Etiebet and other leaders remained with the party, leading by example and building a strong and virile party that will defeat PDP in the next governorship election. One of such strategies is the constitution of the state caucus of APC led by the distinguished political leader and nationally acclaimed statesman, Atuekong Don Etiebet,” the group said.
The statement however accused Senator Udoedehe of having a problem with that arrangement as leader of the APC.
The organisation further accused him of beginning a campaign of calumny against chieftains of APC in the state and that he had paid some media houses to write inciting articles against those he perceives as blocking his efforts to conquer APC.
“Senator Udoedehe should point to one individual he has empowered in all his political journey so far. We know that Atuekong Etiebet, who Udoedehe is attacking today, has made so many people including former governor, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio. Also, it is well known that it is Atuekong Don Etiebiet who bent backwards to make Udoedeghe a senator in 1999, the same Don Etiebet he is insulting today.
“We are not unaware of the antics of Udoedehe and his history of betrayal is not hidden from everyone in the state including the unborn generation. Some of them are as follows:
- He misappropriated Uyo local government funds and was disgraced, arrested and later sacked by Governor Adeusi in 1997.
- In 2001, he betrayed governor Victor Attah and people of Akwa Ibom state during the Resource Control struggle by collecting money from the then presidency, to form a group called ‘Abuja Front’ with which he used to frustrate efforts to enjoy derivation revenue from the federation account.
- He has no respect for Akwa Ibom elders some of who he has publicly assaulted or abused since 1997. These included former governors Clement Isong, Victor Attah and Sam Ewang, Late Ntisong Sebastian Umoren, Dr. Maurice Ebong, Atuekong Don Etiebet, Obong Rita Akpan etc.
- Udoedehe started politics as a thug in the motor park. It was through the park that he became chairman. Since that time he has not left the politics of thuggery. You can recall that during the 2011 campaign, Akpabio openly told everybody in the state that Udoedehe, as Junior Minister for FCT Abuja, physically fought his boss, the senior minister, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo, many times that the late president Umaru Yar’adua had to sack the him. Udoedehe was even suspended by the Senate over his unruly behaviour. Last Saturday, true to type, Udoedehe brought over 200 thugs led by his younger brother who is a wheelbarrow pusher to Darty Hotel for the APC South-South zonal exco meeting. Those thugs assaulted innocent party members outside the meeting venue and struggled to enter the venue to assault the party leaders.
- We thank President Buhari for not rewarding treachery when Udoedehe struggled to be his minister in 2015. That was after Udoedehe collected 300 million Naira from Akpabio to support Udom Emmanuel in the 2015 election and stayed away from Buhari’s presidential campaign visit to Akwa Ibom state.
- Early this year Udoedehe duped Akpabio and Udom separately with false promises to bring them to APC.
At the time of this report, Senator Udoedehe was yet to react.
When Senator Godswill Akpabio was contacted on phone, it was switched off. A text message to his phone line had not also been responded to at the time of this report
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