As Akpabio, Emmanuel feud gets messier

[Edoman]

The ongoing political war in Akwa Ibom State between the Governor, Udom Emmanuel and his estranged political godfather, Godswill Akpabio, is a reminder of the dictum, “No permanent enemy, no permanent friend, but permanent interests”.
The feud has one again brought to the front burner, the debate over political gladiators who installed their successors but later fell out of favour with them.
Examples of both current and former governors in this category include: Orji Kalu versus Theodore Orji (Abia), Rabiu Kwankwaso and Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Donald Duke and his successor Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Peter Obi and Willie Obiano (Anambra) among others.
Of the aforementioned political wars, none has been as fierce and highly contentious as that of Kwankwaso and Ganduje.
In Akwa Ibom, trouble started after Akpabio who is now the Senate Minority Leader in the National Assembly, threatened to withdraw his support for the re-election of his successor, Governor Emmanuel, in 2019, on the grounds that his senatorial district, Akwa Ibom North West, had been marginalised by the present government.
Speaking at the annual get-together organised by the Deputy Governor, Moses Ekpo, to fete the people of Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District, Akpabio announced that he would only endorse Emmanuel’s re-election if the policies and programmes of the administration were not discriminatory against his senatorial district. He lamented that some of the projects his administration started like the multi-million naira Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at Ikot Ekpene and the dualisation of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene Road, had been abandoned by Emmanuel, adding that the completion of the projects would form part of the conditions for Emmanuel’s re-election in 2019.
In a swift reaction, Emmanuel sacked Akpabio’s loyalist and Secretary to the State Government, (SSG) Etekamba Umoren.
Political analysts say as the 2019 elections draw near, more of these relationships that have gone sour will surface.
What then is responsible for these political conflicts? A political commentator, Koye Akintelure attributes it to insistence of most successors to stamp their authority, against the whims and caprices of their godfather.
This, he revealed, becomes more evident when the successor has built his own political structure in the state.
“Events have shown in Nigeria that most that governors who play the role of political godfathers by installing their successors end up being disgraced.
“Initially, such successors may be naive but with time they assert their authority and deviate from whatever agreement they had with their predecessors. This is where conflicts start,” he said.
It will be interesting to see how the political drama will turn out in Akwa Ibom State, considering the fact that incumbent governors usually control structures in Congresses that lead to the conduct of primary elections in their respective parties. Coincidentally, both political actors are seeking reelection in 2019.
 

http://www.businessdayonline.com/akpabio...s-messier/