By Anietie Ekong
Something happened very early in the life of the administration of the immediate past Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel that not only shocked Senator Godswill Akpabio but sent an early signal that he had been declared an enemy of the administration that he had worked so hard to single handedly install. Yes, you heard me well. Apart from God, no other human being can take the credit of installing Mr Emmanuel as Governor.
On this beautiful Friday evening some time in August 2015, we had flown into Uyo for an official engagement of Senator Akpabio who was then serving as the Senate Minority Leader. At the lobby of Le Meridien Hotel, Senator Akpabio and his aides (which included Yours Sincerely) had ran into a serving Commissioner of the new administration of Governor Emmanuel (name withheld) who had also served in the administration of Chief Akpabio.
The Commissioner with his wife and children had come to have dinner in the hotel and was very excited to see Senator Akpabio. After the exchange of pleasantries, Senator Akpabio told the Commissioner that he would soon join him and his family at the restaurant for dinner after he had checked in.
However, within 10 minutes of coming down to the restaurant, the Commissioner and his family were nowhere to be found. He and his family had abandoned the food they had ordered and fled the hotel. He later called Senator to profusely apologize for such action but said it was for self preservation. According to him, if he was reported to Governor Emmanuel that he was seen with Senator Akpabio at Le Meridien Hotel, he would have been sacked immediately for fraternizing with the former Governor and he could not afford to take such risk.
At first Senator Akpabio had dismissed such insinuation and thought that was impossible for an administration he had birthed and which was just few months old. But subsequent events proved that it was indeed true that few months into office, Governor Emmanuel had declared a cold war on a man he proudly described as his mentor during the campaigns to make him Governor.
Perhaps owing to the body language of Governor Emmanuel his aides tried to outshine one another in abusing Senator Akpabio. Indeed the easiest way to become a Personal or Special Assistant to the former Governor was ones ability to use the vilest language on the social media and radio to abuse Chief Godswill Akpabio. I understand the practitioners made screenshots of their posts and sent to the Governor directly. Woe betide thee if as an aide you wrote anything that was deemed complimentary to Senator Akpabio.
The State Government spent huge resources to fund local newspapers and bought air time in radio stations in the state with just one agenda: abuse Senator Akpabio. Many went on Facebook live to call Senator Akpabio unprintable names because they were looking for favour from Governor Emmanuel. As an official state policy, hell was let loose on Senator Akpabio when he moved from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC.) You stood no chance of getting anything from the administration if you cannot employ the most noxious gutter language to abuse Senator Akpabio.
The practice in the past was that as an aide of the Governor, an appointee was entitled to a brand new official car. I mean “tear rubber” not Tokunbo. As Special Assistant on Media to the then Governor Akpabio in January 2012, I was in my station in Abuja when my colleagues called me to come to Uyo and signed up for my official car, which I did without having to lobby the Governor for it. However during the past administration only some aides who had distinguished themselves in Akpabio-bashing were personally given Tokunbo cars by the Governor. If you were really exceptional, the Governor added Toyota Hilux. Others who were not so good in the art were left to jump Keke.
There is a general consensus that the administration of Pastor Umo Eno has started well. His recent visit to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio is seen as a huge plus to him in politically uniting the State and not inheriting the political enemies of his predecessor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, as cautioned by Senator Akpabio during the visit.
I want to add my two cents. If there is another group of renegades Pastor Umo Eno must avoid like a plague, it is those whose only job description in the past administration was to blackmail Senator Akpabio. Inheriting them as his aides would send dangerous signals that his rapprochement is a fluke and they may be brought in to continue in the job they did for the past administration.
