Umana’s Deputy Threatens To Quit APC
Barring any last minute miracle, the Deputy Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2015 governorship election in the state, Engr. Bennedict Ukpong is finally set to dump the party that brought him into limelight a couple of months ago.
Engr Ukpong is yet to congratulate the NDDC Managing Director Designate, Mr Nsima Ekere and had since dumped his campaign and media team members out of frustration.
Ukpong, according to an inside source, is not happy with the party for allegedly forcing him to abandon his lucrative career with the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, Abuja, where he served as deputy director before retiring prematurely into politics to emerge as running mate to the former governorship candidate of the party, Mr. Umana Okon Umana.
A source close to Engr. Ukpong, said the Urueofong Oruko born former FCDA staff was doing well in his career until he was approached and cajoled to join forces with Umana to wrestle power from the PDP. The source reveled that since the party was flying an ethnic kite in their quest to win the soul of the state at every cost, stakeholders of the APC found Oro nation as their best option to deceive in pursuing their agenda.
According to him "It was the belief of the APC that since the people of Oro nation will vote massively for the APC if the deputy governorship ticket was zones to the area. So, in their bid to consolidate on their resolve to ensure that the PDP was defeated in the area and in the state, APC governorship candidate, Umana approached Engr. Ben Ukpong and asked him to accept the offer to contest as his running mate".
It was gathered that Engr. Ukpong had never had real faith in Umana’s bid, which was the reason for his refusal to resign until a political rights group headed by Barr. Ndem Andem instigated a legal battle over his status, forcing Ukpong to return all the salaries he had received after his purported resignation.
However Ukpong’s greatest regret is that it was the singular effort of the APC Deputy governorship candidate that resulted in the victory the party recorded in his local government area, Uruefong Oruko, where an APC candidate won the House of Assembly seat in the 2015 elections.
Ukpong is said to have confided in some close aides that he can never trust APC with any drop of support since the party has shown such terrible bias against the Oro people, even when the only visible representation of the party’s existence in the state can only be found in their area.
“If APC can go to Ikot Abasi and pick both the Minister and NDDC MD, get the NDDC from neigbouring Onna that has already produced the state governor, and picked an SA(Special Assistant on Senate Matters) from Ibiono Ibom, then what is our fate as Oro chieftains with all our sacrifices for the party”?
The source further hinted that the alleged marginalisation of Oro nation by the APC-led federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari has irked Mr. Ukpong who has reportedly reached out to PDP stakeholders in the area to join the flourishing ship of Governor Emmanuel.
Confirming the development, a chieftain of the APC in the state who would not want his name in print, revealed that Engr. Ukpong has been complaining bitterly that he was deceived into resigning from his regular pay work as director in the FCDA.
Meanwhile the Oro people who feel strongly betrayed have since approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the stillbirth of Nsima Ekere’s nomination as Managing Director of NDDC on the premises that he is not from an Oil Producing Community as stipulated by the NDDC Act.