The race to the Hilltop Mansion is almost in its eleventh hour as government appointees who are aspiring for elective offices have tendered resignation letters while sale of political parties’ nomination forms have commenced in earnest.
In Akwa Ibom State, so far, about five gubernatorial aspirants have stormed the state secretariat of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to declare their intentions to take-over from Governor Godswill Akpabio. Several others have purchased their party nomination forms at the National Secretariat of PDP in Abuja.
Notwithstanding the numbers of governorship hopefuls, only one person will emerge as the party candidate for the forthcoming governorship election. In 2006, fifty eight aspirants indicated interest under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party but only Chief Godswill Akpabio won the PDP primaries and stood as the party flag bearer in the general election.
Since the re-emergence of democracy in Nigeria, PDP has been in the forefront of producing the President of this country and the Governor of our dear state. Thus, it is assumed that whoever emerges as the winner of PDP primaries in the forthcoming Governorship Primaries of the party in the state is likely to be the next Governor.
One of such contenders vying for the number one seat is the Leader of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Okpolupm Ikpong Etteh. He is a founding member of Peoples’ Democratic Party in the state and also a consistent, focused and loyal party man who has sacrificed a lot of things including his life for the party.
The Leader of Leaders as he is fondly called by political stakeholders and elder statesmen in the country stormed the National Headquarters of PDP, Wadata Plaza, Abuja on Friday, 17th, October at 11 in the morning, through the Director General of the Akwa Ibom Goodluck Movement, Hon. Ekere Afia, the political leader of Nsit Atai Local Government Area, Chief Sunny Elijah, the President General of Ikpoto Akwa Ibom, Mr. Nsima Uwak, the Publicity Secretary of the Akwa Ibom Youth Caucus, Mr. Leo Leo Umana, renowned media practitioners Mr. Nkeneke Efo and Comrade Darlington Udobong, among other teeming supporters to purchase his party nomination form- a form he never contributed a dime to purchase.
In the leadership of the largest political party in Africa, Rt. Hon. Okpolupm Ikpong Etteh, is a name that is synonymous with success. So far, he has never ‘wasted’ PDP nomination form since he started politicking.
In the State House of Assembly, he picked nomination for three times and emerged victorious at all times. A strategic politician, he never ventured into fanfare and ‘social media’ campaigns as some greenhorn politicians do. I have learnt from his wealth of knowledge that he never vied for any position his people and the Almighty God did not persuade him to contest.
He came into the lawmaking organ of government at an era the people of Esit Eket/ Ibeno state constituency were in dire need of a man who could fill the vacuum the demise of Late Hon. Ernest Ukochio had left behind, and since his assumption till date, the constituency has testified to his effective representation.
The emergence of the Leader of the Fifth Assembly into the Governorship race is not only prophetic but humanly driven. Several aspirants bought their gubernatorial nomination forms with their hard earned money; some had to mortgage their landed properties before being able to pay for forms; some of them got their forms bought by government; but such did not happen in Rt. Hon. Okpolupm Etteh’s instance.
He never spent a dime for his nomination form. I could recall that Rt. Hon. Etteh was persuaded to open a nomination form bank account by associates who were with him in 2008 when a man of God told him he will be Governor of Akwa Ibom State and that he will not use a kobo of his money to purchase his nomination.
He reluctantly did and in three days, he had a cash overflow beyond the actual price of the form. Two significant payments entered the account: a donation of N2000 from a woman from Esit Eket and a donation of N500,000 from a Pastor. Other people from all walks of life paid in cash in support of Etteh’s aspiration.
Through this act of benevolence, they showcased how convinced they were in the God ordained ambition of Etteh, as well as affirmed the ancient proverb, ‘vox populi vox dei’ meaning ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’. God spoke through the people by ensuring that they persuaded Etteh in cash and in kind to contest the November 29 Primaries, not because he did not have cash to buy the forms but as an indication to show that, his enthronement is divinely administered.
At a point, some supporters were amazed by the cash surplus; because he only informed very few of his contacts, but I wore a knowing smile because I perceived the actions as confirmation of God’s abundant grace and favour upon his life.
It was a demonstration of Akwa Ibom people’s trust in him. Truth is, for clergies and monarchs in so called majority and minority areas to financially support an Ibeno born gubernatorial aspirants to the tune of a million Naira, despite the occurring tribal sentiments in the state, goes a long way to show that they must have had unction from the divinity.
One important feature that has drawn me closer to Etteh over the years is his strong belief in God as the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscience. In the forthcoming elections, he has never portrayed himself as the best aspirant for the state, nor likened his aspiration to human efforts and connection within the corridors of power.
At all times, Etteh is of the view that his emergence is subjected to the divine will and that of the people. Throughout his political years both in youth activism and politics, this ideology has been of immense benefit to him. Also, God has enthroned him amidst human expectations and natural phenomena. For example, In Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State, he was only an HND 1 student and a ‘first timer’ in the school politics, but became a two-term NAAKISS President. At present, Okpolupm Etteh, is the longest serving House of Assembly member from Esit Eket/Ibeno state constituency since the creation of Akwa Ibom State, not by his affiliation with the powers that be but through divine will and that of the people.
These feats are not ordinarily; they are biblically compelled as entrenched in Psalm Chapter sixty two verses eleven. Any politician that believes that power comes from God as Okpolupm Etteh does, is entitled to divine promotion, uplift and enthronement.
Etteh’s headway from various stages in life is to me an ark of divine covenant and grace overflow upon his life. No man can understand the measure of such anointing.
Empirical findings has revealed that the road to Akwa Ibom State Government House has never been for the most humanly anointed aspirant or the one with the highest financial muscles, but for God’s anointed and the people’s chosen. Of course, God does not anoint or perform miracles in isolation. There is always a witness, and such witnesses cut across people and various signs. When he anointed David, his brothers and mothers were witnesses. During Noah’s era, he used flood as a sign to wipe away the earth. In the present generation, God still uses these tools by way of prophecies, testimonies from people, solidarity, consistency, focus, and loyalty among others.
Etteh has been a partaker of this divine benevolence. His emergence seems not to be strange in the eyes of clergies, as they have long prophesied. Even when he appears as one with less financial muscle in the race, he still have ardent, patriotic and loyal supporters who are bent on ensuring that the divine will of God manifest in his life.
Having thoroughly scrutinized the mindset of PDP delegates in the forthcoming election, I can authoritatively say that Etteh has gained more confidence in the mind of delegates than other aspirants despite his quietness.
Even other aspirants will not hesitate aligning their various structures for Rt. Hon. Okpolupm Etteh to ply the ship if need be, because he is seen as a neutral man in the committee of aspirants.
Aside from clerics, old men have started dreaming dreams about Etteh, while lads have long seen visions about him. Already, politicians have joined the cue in testifying to the goodness of Okpolupm Etteh to the entire world.
At Wadata Plaza, a national officer of PDP recently said, “Okpolupm Ikpong Etteh does not dabble into the dirty politics of blackmail, propaganda and character assassination. In all the petitions we have in this complex, none is attributed to him. That means that his people love him and when given a chance to govern the state, he will inculcate all the divides in his administration. Such a person deserves our ticket, and at the right time, we shall distinguish the wheat from the tares.”
Another gubernatorial aspirant, Obong Umana Okon Umana, recently described him as a very good man whose giant strides on the sands of time is second to none.
He has so far integrated all tribes in his administrative agenda, for example, though he represents only two units in the AKHA (Ekid and Ibeno), his aides cut across all the units in the state.
To me, it proves that Etteh is not only a pan Akwa Ibom aspirant but also a lad who will integrate all the tribes in his administration.
As usual, now that the Leader of the fifth assembly has purchased his nomination form, it shows that he has adhered to the pressure of his people and has agreed to serve his people from 2015 and beyond.
I guess, he will soon show the nomination form to the people that sent him and thereafter present himself and his manifesto to the party. The PDP knows him as a good man, an ardent member of the party.
The leadership of the Party can testify to the fact that Etteh has always uplifted and catered for the party. It will not be a displaced priority for PDP to entrust its only gubernatorial flag and ticket to him.
From all indications, Okpolupm Etteh has aligned himself with God’s purpose and the will of the people. Chinua Achebe, in ‘Things fall Apart’ said, ‘When a man says yes, his Chi also say yes’ truly, the Akwa Ibom people have said Yes to Okpolupm Etteh in 2015, therefore God has confirmed the wish of the people.
For the PDP Governorship primaries, Rt. Hon. Okpolupm Etteh, abeg carry go…
[+] Torobong Ekpo