- automatic tickets: Governor Emmanuel shocks council chairmen
◾Vows to respect zoning arrangement in the state
◾Warns those who did transition to steer clear
Against the near general belief, Governor Udom Emmanuel shocks the present council chairmen in Akwa Ibom whose tenures expire this December and vowed never to give automatic tickets to them.
Recall that Gov Emmanuel during his second term bid in 2019 allegedly pledged to give automatic 2nd term ticket to all council chairmen in the state.
Contrary to their expectation to make 2nd term without tears, Gov Emmanuel has reportedly given them what the political class refer to as “political April fool” as he has warned chairmen who have done 5 years – 2 years transition and 3 years elected to stay clear of such contest in respect of the PDP zoning arrangement which is still in force.
Gov Emmanuel is said to have reminded the anxious 2nd term hungry chairmen to beware of the existing guidelines on zoning which supersedes any other decision, except where such council chairmen aspirants have been so considered by his people through a consensus.
According to findings, the governor’s action has pitched the chairmen against the governor who they consider as an executive “liar”.
The aggrieved chairmen reasoned that having assisted the governor in his 2nd term bid under thick and thorns, they deserve nothing less than reciprocation of the kind gesture on the part of the governor, warning that, anything on the contrary will spell doom for the party in its future elections, not excluding the governor’s succession.
“We want to believe that our governor is a model of promise and keep governor. We don’t expect him to speak with both sides of his mouth now,” they noted.
It is necessary to place on record that virtually all the present council helmsmen are products or by products of godfatherism, who should only be seen and not heard going by the process of their emergence which still hangs a question mark as to whether they were truly elected by their electorate.
