The Greater Akwa Ibom Youths Initiative (TGAIYI) is alarmed by the undemocratic desperation of some expired politicians in Akwa Ibom State to adopt Senator John James Akpanudoedehe as a consensus governorship candidate at a time that the party is still divided into factions and the leadership struggle is pending the resolution of the court.

While we are not necessarily opposed to the idea of Udoedehe joining the gubernatorial race being a matter of constitutional rights, it is however laughable for certain elders who have repeatedly mortgaged the soul of the APC for the filthy lucre of the governing PDP in the state to enthrone a serial saboteur and ring the funeral knell for our party.

It is common knowledge that Senator John James Akpanudoedeghe is not interested in being governor. For him, election periods are high income turnover opportunity and the APC is always his only chattel for sale. In 2016, Udoedeghe celebrated the defeat of APC and its gubernatorial candidate, Mr. Umana Okon Umana at the Supreme Court of Nigeria merely because Udoedeghe lost the party ticket to him and further enforced the suspicion at the time that Udoedeghe had turned his back on the party. In that same 2015, Udoedeghe refused to attend Buhari's campaign rally. He openly told his supporters not to vote for Buhari, which they did.

Recently, Governor Nyesom Wike openly accused Udoedeghe of working and actually voting for PDP in the 2019 elections. Wike threatened to present evidence should Udoedeghe deny or attempt to controvert his assertion. Udoedeghe has kept an undignified silence on the matter to save self from the embarrassing situation till date. What Wike revealed to the media was already an open secret given that Udoedeghe had down tools and made no effort to work for the victory of APC. Indeed, APC failed to win Udoedeghe's unit and ward despite the amount of money the party had invested for campaigns through Udoedeghe. A man with such shallow attributes cannot be entrusted with the APC flag.

The youths are quite vigilant and will work to salvage democracy from the auction table of Senator Udoedeghe. As an opposition party in the state, it is shameful that Udoedeghe has gone to bed with the very monsters that have failed our people and incapacitated the party from being a critical rallying point of the Akwa Ibom people to press for good governance.

We therefore condemn and reject the purported beer parlor adoption of Senator Udoedeghe. It is all that Udoedeghe worked for as the secretary of the CECPC when he formented problems within the party that led to the severe division and disunity in the party. We have no doubt that our party is blessed with more committed and ingenious persons who can unite the party, inspire hope and lead the party to the first electoral victory of an opposition party in Akwa Ibom State.

We call on our dear President, HE Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the 'structure for sale' allegations against Senator Udoedehe, who is alleged to have unlawfully used his office to extort money from politicians in various states with a promise to handover the party structure to them. It is plausible that Udoedeghe's greed and character dysfunction is the remote cause of the severe internal division and factions that plaques the party congresses in many states across the country.

In APC Akwa Ibom State, never again as a party shall we be walking backwards with the likes of Senator John James Akpan Udoedeghe.

Signed for and unbehalf of The Greater Akwa Ibom Youths Initiative (TGAIYI)

Comrade Theophilus Akpan
National Cordinator

Comrade David Alphonsus Ekerendu
Dir. Media and Publicity

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