Emmanuel’s aide kicks as ex-CoS faults PDP’s zoning plan

Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Research and Documentation, Mr. Essien Ndueso, has flayed former Chief of Staff to the governor and senatorial candidate for Eket Senatorial District under the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Chief Ephraim Inyangeyen, for criticising the zoning arrangement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Inyangeyen, a member of PDP before moving to YPP, had said that PDP had no moral right to talk about zoning as it (PDP) failed to zone the presidential ticket to the South and that of governorship slot in the state to Itu/Ibiono.

Inyangeyen, a former PDP chieftain, could not clinch the senatorial ticket of the PDP because stakeholders in the district zoned the senatorial seat to Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency, which led to the emergence of Ekong Sampson as the party’s standard bearer.

Irked by the development, Inyangeyen faulted the PDP, saying the party had shot itself in the foot since its governorship candidate is from Etinan as against the Itu/Ibiono Federal Constituency that should produce the next governor.

Essien Ndueso, who is also the Head, Media and Publicity, Ekong Sampson Campaign Organisation, in a statement obtained by our correspondent described Inyangeyen’s utterance as mere ‘display of ignorance.’

The statement reads: “What the YPP Senatorial candidate fails to understand is the fact that Akwa Ibom South (Eket) Senatorial District is bigger than a single individual and not even an arrogant or loquacious politician with zero regards for elders and traditional institution in the district can blackmail the entire district to dance to his dictate.

“The PDP national leadership left the race for the presidential ticket open to all because of the peculiarities in the country and Atiku Abubakar emerged. The party zoned the governorship seat in Akwa Ibom to Uyo Senatorial District and Pastor Umo Eno won. The party also zoned the senatorial seat for Eket to Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency and Ekong Sampson won, what is so difficult to understand?

“Akparawa Ephraim Inyang cannot deny that he was at the special meeting of stakeholders and leaders of the senatorial district earlier this year, where the unanimous decision zoning the senatorial seat for 2023 goes to Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency was reached.”

According to him, once the decision on zoning was reached, every politician from other federal constituencies in the senatorial district, including the serving member of the House of Representatives, Pat Ifon, opted to back out of the race.

He condemned the action, saying no reasonable person would defy the collective decisions of his people.

“Apart from exposing his ignorance as a newcomer to the politics of Eket Senatorial District, the unwarranted outburst against the previous senators in the senatorial district shows how much disconnected from reality, Chief Ephraim Inyang has been.”