Petty propaganda in Akwa Ibom

Sir: Had Ita Enang remained in the PDP after losing his bid to return to Nigeria’s Senate for a second term in 2015, we would have got his own perspective – most likely proper as usual – on a number of things the Muhammadu Buhari administration is perceived to have done wrongly.

Enang, a lawyer and probably the only Nigerian that has gone through all the rungs of legislative bodies in the country have a modelled journalistic knack for fact checks and investigations. Most times, he spends resources to go the extra mile to see things for himself; mounts personal antennae and dig below the surface to extract the exactitude of things, and often he dusts his hands-on archives in order to give the incontrovertible force of authority to his stance.

If he was not serving under the Buhari government, the same way he revealed with factual figures that those reaping most from crude oil businesses through ownership of oil wells are not indigenes of the Niger Delta but from the northern part of the country, he would have put in a glance avalanche of nepotisms, ineptitudes and violations of the rule of law perpetrated under the Buhari presidency. The making of Enang, a presidential aide, whether consciously or unconsciously, has proved a workable damage control measure for the APC-controlled Federal Government. But the plus to the APC political family is a minus to the larger Nigerian populace.

On October 9, Enang had on a radio programme on Uyo-based Inspiration FM claimed that the governor was warming up to join the APC. He cited recent visits of Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, who were in the state on different days for the inauguration of projects done by the governor. In fact, while urging citizens in the state to be on the watch out for Emmanuel’s formal declaration for the ruling party, he concluded at the same time that “Udom Emmanuel is now a member of the APC” and that he would, therefore, cease from joining issues with him.

Though it appears suicidal to vow for Nigerian politicians concerning the act of dumping a party that brought them to power for the one that fiercely gave them a run for their money at elections, the current governor of Akwa Ibom is extremely poor at jumping ship. He is also very conversant of the fact that the political profile and popularity of top political office holders in the state are often on the decline once they dump PDP. They are only given a consolatory position by the party they join.

From my distant knowledge of the governor, I do not need to be a prophet, before knowing that after winning his second term election, the last decision the governor would make among millions of options in his remaining days in the Government House in Uyo is the decision to dump PDP for APC or any other party for that matter.

• Nsikak Ekanem sent this piece from Lagos through nsikak4media@gmail.com