Aggrieved A’Ibom gov aspirants ‘endorse’ Esuene’s ambition in LP

THE twenty-two aggrieved aspirants in the December 8, 2014 governorship primary in Akwa Ibom State may have sanctioned the furtherance of the ambition of one of their own, Senator Helen Esuene, on the platform of the Labour Party.

The former minister  made the disclosure Tuesday in Eket while addressing journalists on her decamping to LP to further her quest of being the first female governor of the state come 28th of this month.

According to her, the G22 after  their 40-day sojourn in Abuja had in the face of the ‘ grave injustice’ meted to them by the PDP decided to queue behind her, adding they weren’t against Udom Emmanuel as person, but frowned at the entire process that produced him as the party’s flag bearer for the election.

“Twenty-two persons went to Abuja to register their protest and seek redress for the gross electoral malpractices and ended up waiting for 40 days.

“Forty days of expectation of justice or a semblance of it. This political pilgrimage I dare to say is the first of its kind in Nigeria”, she said.

 She regretted that nothing came out of it as the leadership of the PDP in Abuja and Akwa Ibom refused to see anything wrong in the way the primary was conducted in the state.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the summary of that entire exercise is the unanimous endorsement of the group that I, Senator Helen Esuene shall fly the gubernatorial flag and Mr. David Okpon shall be my running mate on the platform of the Labour Party. Mr. David Okpon is from Uyo senatorial district.

“This decision was based on equity and justice as Uyo senatorial district in the almost 16 years of unbroken democracy had never produced a deputy governor. Eket senatorial district had a deputy governor for a total of 10 years while Ikot Ekpene senatorial district had a deputy governor for eight years”, Esuene added.

She described the G22 as a movement which is out to restore justice and fair place in the polity of Akwa Ibom State, wondering why the governor should be the only person to produce this successor, deputy, 26 members of the House of Assembly, the 10 House of Representatives candidates and the three senatorial candidates.

“Our democracy is nascent and rotation is the ingredient that will give the populace a sense of belonging for enhanced peaceful co-existence. In addition, it reduces unnecessary friction within the polity while encouraging the proper grooming of would-be candidates”, the LP guber candidate stated.