By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
Former Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, Pastor Umo Eno has emerged the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for Akwa Ibom State.
At the party’s primary which held on Wednesday at the Nest of Champions International Stadium, Uyo had a total of 1,018 delegates who were accredited to vote.
Eno scored a total of 993 votes to beat 13 other contestants, including those who boycotted the primary over some alleged irregularities bothering on the selection of the Ad-hoc delegates used for the governorship primary.
Aniekan Etim scored 2 votes, Mike Enyong had 1 vote, Senator Bassey Albert scored 1 vote while Akan Okon polled 3 votes.
Others include Onofiok Luke who got 3 votes, Umoh Idorenyin James 2 votes and Mr. Ide Owodiong 1 vote. There were two voided votes
Onofiok Luke, Senator Bassey Akpan Albert and Prince Aniekan Etim are among those who earlier on Tuesday issued a press statement boycotting the primary.
They cited a subsisting court order in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/606/22 at the Federal High Court Abuja as the reason for their decision to boycott the primary.
Despite the boycott of governorship primary by the aggrieved aspirants, the exercise was supervised by the Akwa Ibom State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini, alongside other officials of the Commission, who were on hand to monitor the exercise in line with Constitutional provisions.
The Akwa Ibom PDP Governorship Primary Committee had Edo State Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, as Chairman while Mr. Edwards Ayo-Odugbesan served as Secretary. Other members of the 6-man Committee were Hon Mamman Usman, Hon Stephen Ibrahim, Barr K, Njoku and Mariam Bala.
Some Governorship aspirants who lost the primary have congratulated the winner, Pastor Umo Eno, for emerging victorious at the primary. Eno who enjoyed the support of the state government and the party hierarchy, was Governor Udom Emmanuel’s anointed candidate to succeed him in office, hence the intrigues including opposition that triggered grievances by other aspirants.
However, when the matter before the Court in Abuja, came up on Wednesday, Counsel to the 2nd – 331st defendants, Uwemedimo Nwoko SAN, argued that the status quo antebellum advice by the court was misrepresented by the plaintiffs to mean an order of Court to stop the primaries from holding.
The Court agreed that it never stopped the primaries of the PDP in its order and urged the Plaintiffs to go ahead with their arguments on the preliminary objections over jurisdiction and locus standi brought by the defendants.
Counsel to Plaintiff Ahmed Raji also appealed for more time to study the preliminary objections filed by the defendants. The defendants raised no objection to his plea, after which the matter was adjourned to Wednesday, 1st of June, 2022 for further hearing.
