Governor Udom risks losing out as powerful hands offer conditions

As the hand of the clock is ticking towards 2023 general elections, powerful hands in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, are mounting pressure against Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel's senate ambition, his choice of successor and his general political relevance offering conditions for a reverse, but the banker-turned politician may refuse to yield unless he decides to gamble with his conscience.
The powerful hands believed to be from the royal and political classes have been sleepless devicing means of winning the heart of Governor Udom against some indigenes of the state on personal ground. The group has vowed to ensure that the good policy framework, which Governor Udom Emmanuel had put on ground is totally grounded unless the latter dances to their tune, but the architect of transformative governance may refuse to yield to their pressure going by his body language in recent times. Mr. Udom Emmanuel has been severally quoted as maintaining that his administration would not promote disharmony between groups and between people to remain politically relevant in the state's political space.
The conditions offered by the group, according to a source close to Ikot Ekpene TRC, who did not want his name in print, were: the Governor should bury the issue of issuing certificate of recognition to Otoro-Ubo clan and subsequent installtion of Dr. Ime S. Ekpo as the clanhead of the new clan in Ikot Ekpene; the Governor should not facilitate the process of opening the 4-Points by Sheraton for business claiming that the conditions offered by the host communities did not favour the generality of the people of Ikot Ekpene.
A first-class royal father in Ikot Ekpene who claimed to be closely related to His Excellency was quoted as beating his chest that over his dead body that he would allow Governor Udom to issue certificate of recognition to Dr. Ime S. Ekpo, the clanhead-elect of Otoro-Ubo clan. He claimed he was
fully equipped to influence Udom not to recognize Dr. Ekpo's legibility for clanheadship. Authoritative sources have revealed that the royal father is actively consulting and mobilizing some political stakeholders in and around Ikot Ekpene to discourage His Excellency from reconizing and certificating Otoro-Ubo clan alleging that Dr. Ekpo could do anything fettish to ascend the paramount rulership of the place if offered the chance for clanheadship of the new clan. He told a section of the place's Traditional Rulers Council that if Udom should issue certificate of recognition to Dr. Ekpo, as clanhead, he would use his last kobo to urge some members to withdraw their support for Udom's choice of successor, his political relevance and his ambition for senate.
It is quite obvious that the myopic machinations of these self-styled political and royal merchants have severed the economic and social fortunes of the colonial city. The dysfunctional 4-Points by Sheraton situated in the heart of the city and non-certification and recognition of Otoro-Ubo clan with the installation of the clanhead-elect of the new clan constitute a colossal setback in the city's attempt to depart from the stagnated past to a dynamic future.
Politicians and some greedy royal fathers are using the dormant status of the hotel to make money between the owner-communties and government. It has been established that the government has paid a lot of money to the host communities, either as Trust Fund or Compensation but such money has only been known on the pages of the media. Any person that may tend to expose the anomaly or refuses to identify with the retrogreesive attempts, is seen as the worst enemy to the government and, indeed, unfit for either a royal or political relevance.
They are all armed to the teeth to poison the Governor's mind against issuing certificate of recognition to Dr. Ime S. Ekpo, one of the 3 one of the 3 candidates of the last election for Otoro-Ubo clanheadship, who polled 6 votes as against the other 2, Chief David of Utu Ikpe and Barrister Alban of Nsiak who polled 1 and 2 respectively. Dr. Ime S. Ekpo won and remained the clanhead-elect of Otoro-Ubo, but a section of the royal fathers in Ikot Ekpene and some politicians loyal to Governor Udom have always ganged up to frustrate Dr. Ekpo's dream for ascndancy. During the
reign of the former Paramount Ruler of Ikot Ekpene, late Okuku Augustus Jonah Ekpenyong Asiak, issue of certification of the clan with its clanheadship severally severed the relationship between the then Governor, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio and the former when the latter reportedly cursed Akpabio if he dared give formal recognition to Dr. Ekpo as Otoro-Ubo clanhead. This issue generated a lot of heat and concern among the royal fathers from other local government areas of the state who felt Asiak was taking the matter too personal and was washing his 'dirty linen' outside. One of the royal fathers who was at the meeting was quoted as interrupting Asiak: "Your Royal Majesty, this is your son; if you have any problem with Dr. Ekpo, take the matter home and settle it amicably, not here".
An outstanding member of Ikot Ekpene TRC who preferred anonymity told journaists last week that some royal forces from the local government had vowed to apply any means to tame the governor to frustrate Dr. Ime's hope for ascendancy. According to the source, the royal authority had reportedly threatened that if the governor refused to yield, he would mobilize against his ambition for senate and his choice for successor.
Worried by the untoward scenario, public commentators are of the opinion that should Udom succumb to sentiments from a section of the citizenry, the social value of the state is at great risk and his open-door policy would suffer jeopardy in the long run. Again, it would be unwelcome if Udom, the Chief Executive Officer of a state like Akwa Ibom, would be acting by the dictates of people who are on his payroll, rather than standing by his power and words.
Apart from forces from the royal class against Dr. Ime S. Ekpo, the political family is also sharpening its sword to nail on no just cause.
If Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, an ideal technocrat, respects the tenets of democracy, which are ascertained by legible elections won by the candidates with the highest votes, he may not want to sweep the victory of Dr. Ime S. Ekpo under the carpet who won very convincingly, so that nemesis may not play out in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.