Udom Emmanuel: APC’s plan to cause violence in Akwa Ibom will fail

Emmanuel Udom

Emmanuel Udom, Akwa Ibom state governor on Thursday, said his office has gotten briefs of plans by the All Progressive Congress (APC) to cause mayhem in the state, but that it will all end in futility.

He described the antics of the ruling party as a deliberate ploy to distract his administration from delivering her mandate prior to the 2019 general elections.

Recall that the Senate was thrown into confusion on Wednesday when Senator Godswill Akpabio tried to respond to an allegation from a colleague that the APC was plotting the crisis in order to compromise the polls.

Akpabio, a former governor of the State, recently defected from Udom’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition APC, a development that has heightened political tension in the state.

Udom, who was at the State House, Abuja to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari told reporters covering the Presidency that while God is the ultimate giver of power, he was not afraid of losing re-election next year.

His words, “When it comes to power, it is only God who determines and we are conscious of that. We are professionals who have made names in other places. So, when people just discuss some of these things we keep doing our own businesses.

“At times some of these things are to distract you but we refuse to be distracted. We play politics of development and our people are seeing that.

“So, whatever would have tried in any way to distract us we don’t want to be distracted. So, don’t be bothered about that. It is only God who determines what happens the next minute, not man. And no man is God.”

He said anyone planning violence and war in Akwa Ibom was wasting his time as people of the State have resolved to be peaceful and will remain so.

Nonetheless, he pointed out that such threats from any quarters were being noted even at the level of the presidency, and he believes there is no cause for alarm.

According to him, “At the moment Akwa Ibom State is very peaceful. We only hear of those plots. I am sure you people heard where people were pronouncing that ‘Warsaw saw War’ and that’s what they wish Akwa Ibom would be.

“But we indigenes are saying no, we are peaceful and we want to maintain peace. Whoever wants to live by ‘Warsaw saw war’ will also see war on his own, not within the state.

“Election does not call for that. Our own democracy is about development and I think we’re conscious of that. As of today in terms of internal security, we are still doing very well and we’ll continue to carry everybody along.

“I think it is being noted. On actions expected that’s not for me, I am not the C-in-C. The C-in-C knows the action to take. The President is the father for all.”

He said he was not at the Villa though over that, but to discuss with the President on developmental issues concerning Akwa Ibom.