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JOE EFFIONG, UYO
The deputy gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Victor Antai has has raised the alarm that billboards belonging to the candidates of the APC in the state have been vandalised by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters.
But the PDP in the state has dismissed the allegation as false alarm and crying foul by APC which it has said has no gubernatorial candidate in the state.
A press release by Anietie Ekong, a former spokesman for Sen. Godswill Akpabio, made available to Daily Sun on Tuesday, said Antai had already addressed the press at the site of one of the vandalized billboards in Idu Uruan, Uruan LGA, where he reminded those who were using their present positions to incite mayhem in the dtate to know that power is transient as such should not do anything to instigate violence in the state.
Quoting the politicians the release said; “Yesterday, I sent some people to come and put up our flex on our billboard behind me here, this board personally belong to me. I erected this board since the year 2015. This was the board I also used in running campaign for the sitting Governor, Udom Emmanuel.
“Since I was not on the ballot, I had no use for it and some of my friends that are still in PDP have been using this board and I have not disturbed them.
“Right now since I am on the ballot, I have need for it and I drove down here to find torn materials and the board in a state of disrepair. Yesterday, I sent some money for them to maintain the board and then posted APC Gubernatorial Candidate flex on this board.
“By this morning, I got a call from our teeming supporters across Uruan here, that the council chairman Surveyor Iniobong Ekpenyong mandated his boys to come and vandalise the APC board.
“I have one message for him, “Power is transient.” He has no right to vandalise APC boards. One of the reasons he gave is that the board is standing very close to Uruan Local Government Council Secretariat. But I can tell you that this board is on Nwaniba Road that leads to Five Star Hotel and it’s about 300 metres away from the turn that leads you to Uruan Local Government Council Secretariat.
“The Billboard is not on Uruan Council headquarters road, the council Secretariat is not on Nwaniba Road, but if they are bringing that argument, now from plaza to Barracks road where you have the Government house, there are billboards of other parties; we have YPP, NNPP boards. Why have they not destroyed other boards because it is close to the seat of Government?
“They have touched the tiger’s tail. I am a grand son of Uruan, I have done more for Uruan than the Chairman. So I have the right also that the Surveyor Iniobong has. He has touched the tiger’s tail and I am not going to take it lying low.
“They have started the vandalisation of APC boards and they say APC does not have a candidate, so why are you destroying APC boards?
“I want to use this opportunity to tell every Nigerian that has the opportunity to hear my voice that APC has a gubernatorial Candidate and his name is: Obong Akanimo Udofia.
“The race is not for the swift but to whom God has given grace. And I speak to the land of Akwa Ibom, no foreign gods has powers over this land. We cannot remain in poverty in the midst of plenty, we cannot remain in servitude where there are great men.
“Obong Akanimo Udofia, means well for Akwa Ibom State. Even as a business man he has built a postgraduate hostel of over N2 Billion in Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden. This council Secretariat belongs to everyone, all parties APC, NNPP, YPP, PDP and every other party and Uruan people. That council belongs to them.
“But the Surveyor, a supposed enlightened man can send people to vandalize this board and claim that the board had no registration. Aniekan Bassey posted his flex here; why didn’t you destroy it?
“I have a word for them: those in Government at Barracks road and those at Local Level; I have just one message that power is transient. He gives it to whoever He wills and power is in the hands of God.”
The release said Antai who later visited the Council Secretariat to protest to the Chairman appealed to APC members to remain calm and law abiding and not take the laws into their hands.
He was also said to have at the Local Government Secretariat, the disbursement of money to the poorest of the poor as one of the Federal Government’s social intervention programmes, and wondered why President Muhammadu Buhari would be so generous to execute his programmes across party lines while agents of the PDP were busy perpetuating violence on APC.
Hon Antai however gave the Uruan Council Chairman 24 hours to return the vandalized APC materials or face dire consequences.
But reacting to the threat and the allegation, the PDP in the wondered how the APC, a party which INEC had come out publicly to say has no governorship candidate could come out to accuse the PDP of destroying a billboard with the inscription of their gubernatorial candidates.
The publicity of the Party in the state, Mr Borono Bassey, querried in statement made available to Daily Sun; “Which faces did the party print on the said “unknown” billboards?
“We must warn that we will not tolerate these unfounded accusations fuelled by the fear of the now entrenched imminent defeat that the APC always suffer in Akwa Ibom State
This false, utterly preposterous and unfounded allegation is only a tiny drop in the ocean of tears we expect from all opposition parties who are trying to coerce Akwa Ibom people to go against their established, entrenched, rational, highly rewarding and patriotic choice of always prefering and votibg for only candidates of the PDP in Akwa Ibom State.
“It is becoming a tradition to find candidates of the opposition parties cry foul over fear of the growing popularity and acceptance of the PDP. We saw this trend in 1999, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and so 2023 will not be different.
“Our Party will be ready to clean their tears after the elections by giving the chance to return to the PDP.” PDP said.
