Prime Business Africa
Akwa Ibom: Parties in early push for 2027 elections
By ETIM ETIM
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPolitical parties in Akwa Ibom State have commenced early preparations for the 2027 elections. APC in particular is setting off in ernest, signaling readiness to fend off opposition challenge and reelect Gov. Umo Eno and Senator Godswill Akpabio, among others. On Friday, January 2 the governor called a stakeholders’ meeting – the second since he joined the party in June – and announced a formation of an eight-member committee to ‘’work with the Party’s leadership to ensure a transparent, consultative and united process…to prepare for the 2026 Party Congresses as we prepare for the 2027 general elections’’. The committee is chaired by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Enobong Uwah, with a member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Patrick Umoh, as Secretary.
Congresses are scheduled to hold between Wednesday, February 18 and Saturday, March 2. They would elect 27 party executives for each of the 369 wards; 27 executives for each of the 31 LGAs and 37 members of the State EXCO of the party. In addition, five delegates, to be elected in each ward, would go on to participate in the governorship primary while three to be elected in each LGA, would go to Abuja to participate in the presidential convention.
Congresses therefore provide exciting opportunities for democracy to thrive in the communities. But they could also be the beginning of intractable crisis if not well managed. The Congress Planning Committee therefore has its job cut out for it and party members are keenly watching. Some are suggesting that the committee should be expanded to include at least one party executive either at zonal or national level ‘’to further help the committee navigate some thorny issues’’, as one put it because ‘’such an important committee should have a representative of the party as a member’’.
Gov. Eno is aware of the enormity of the tasks ahead. He stressed on peace, unity and rancor-free politics in his speeches at the stakeholders’ meeting on Friday and church service on Sunday. Senator Akpabio spoke along the same theme, advising members to mobilize others to register at INEC and obtain voters’ card. ‘’Second-term elections in Akwa Ibom State are typically very competitive and we should not underrate the opposition even though we are the biggest party in the state. On average, total governorship votes in the state is between 600,000 and 700,000; but for 2027, we should aim to return the governor and the President with 1.2 million votes’’, he said. The room erupted in a sustained applause.
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But the opposition parties are not sleeping. Sources say the PDP is planning to field Hon. Onofiok Luke, former Speaker of the House of Assembly and former member of House of Representatives, as its governorship candidate. Akpabio made a passing reference to this at the stakeholders’ meeting when he asked APC members to ‘’work hard to reinforce the party’s position as a formidable platform because some young people are also planning to throw their hats into the ring’’. Luke, 47, was Akpabio’s personal assistant when he was governor, but is now practicing law in Abuja. Last night, I asked him if he would challenge the governor in 2027. He paused for a moment and picked his words carefully: ‘’my plans are in God’s hands; that’s all I will say’’.
I had asked him a similar question in August, but he brushed it aside with ‘’my brother, I respect you a lot; it is too early to talk about it now’’. If Luke throws his hat into the ring, it would not surprise many. He was one of the five aspirants that contested for the PDP nomination in 2022. After the emergence of Umo Eno as the party’s candidate, Luke made initial attempts to defect to Labour Party to picket its ticket, but quickly abandoned the plan and backed Eno who went on to win the election. I asked him then why he jettisoned the idea of running on LP. He talked of high costs of prosecuting a governorship election and the odds against an opposition candidate. He will take these into considerations as he ponders his options this time around. Both Luke and Eno are from the same LGA.
In ADC, the options seem fairly straightforward. Dr. Ukana Bassey, a US-based medical doctor from Nsit Ibom has commenced exploratory discussions with associates on the possibility of entering the race. But Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, a veteran politician, will easily pick the ticket if he chooses to run. The former FCT Minister (State) under President Yar’Adua has run for governor four times. In 2011, he contested under ACN and was on the way to winning when the election was abruptly cancelled. In 2015, he lost in the APC primary to Obong Umana Umana who had joined the party from PDP a few weeks earlier. In 2019, Udoedehe lost to Obong Nsima Ekere in the APC primary and in 2023, he decamped from APC to ANPP and picked its governorship ticket. He polled 21, 329 votes in the election, against Umo Eno’s 354, 348 votes and Bassey Albert’s (YPP) 136, 262 votes. Although INEC had determined that APC had no candidate in the election due to protracted litigations and internal crisis, the party polled 129, 602 votes. Senator Albert has since joined APC from YPP and has announced his support for Gov. Eno.
The state of play clearly suggests that Eno will easily win his reelection, with over 70% of the votes, according to several informed analysts I have spoken to. But experienced politicians advise against undue presumptions. Says Hon. Kufre Etuk who was a member of the House of Assembly when Luke was Speaker, ‘’although APC is clearly the leading party in the state, PDP still has some support. We can’t afford to be lax’’.
