…Allegation is spurious – Party Scribe
Ahead of the 2019 general election, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Akwa Ibom State, Obong Paul Ekpo, is embroiled in a scandal over allegation of receiving N2 million bribe to endorse one of the aspirants to the Abak federal constituency seat.
At the stakeholders meeting held to honour Governor Udom Emmanuel and his wife, Martha, by the PDP youths drawn from Abak and Ukanafun federal constituencies, Ekpo had raised Aniekan Umanah’ hand, a gesture people misconstrued to be an endorsement for the plum seat.
Umanah, a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy and a loyalist of Senator Godswill Akpabio is eying the lower chamber of the National Assembly in 2019.
The party’s chair could not be reached at press time, but the party’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Iniobong Ememobong, described the allegation as “unfounded and unjustifiable and a plot by some mischief makers to gain cheap political point.”
He said: “The party Chairman, Obong Ekpo, has not collected N2million for the party to endorse anybody.
“If the party has endorsed anybody, there will be no contest. All the aspirants have support groups and any group has the right to declare support and endorse their aspirants.
“The party has nobody in mind and has not presented anybody as its choice, so people should disregard unfounded allegations coming out from the rumour mill, especially in this political time.”
He explained that the PDP in the state will follow all the due and democratic process in the task of ensuring that better and popular candidates emerge to fly party’s flags at the polls come 2019.
