A group, Mandate Eyes, based in Akwa Ibom State, has written to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Iyorchia Ayu, to express its resentment over calls by some aspirants for the cancellation of ward delegates’ congresses conducted in the state on April 30, 2022.
This was contained in an open letter issued by its Director of Public and Strategic Communications, Uwemedimoh Umanah, copy of which was made available to our correspondent on Monday.
Umanah noted that the motive behind the calls for such cancellation was to paint a negative picture about the state and the leadership of the PDP in the state led by Governor Udom Emmanuel.
“First, the logical incongruence of their piece of trash is evident in the writers’ call for the cancellation of the delegates Ad hoc Congress of April 30th 2022, which they alleged were held in some wards including that of the state governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel.
“The fact that they have admitted that congresses were held in some wards defines them as mere confused mischief makers. It begs at this point to ask these merchants of falsehood, in which wards in the state were congresses not held?
“If their response is placed in juxtaposition with available facts and evidence, it goes further to accentuate the belief that their mischief is aimed primarily at distracting the gullible public and weaken the base of the PDP in the state.
“Therefore, asking for the cancellation of the legally organised and peaceful ad hoc ward elections smack an ill-conceived intention, probably.
“Secondly, these merchants of perfidy have surreptitiously recommended the use of statutory delegates only and jettisoned the ad hoc ward delegates’ elections. This request is tantamount to shifting the goalpost in the middle of the game – an attitude that defines cowards and men with multiple personality disorders.
“Why, as contestant, are they teaching the umpire how to do his job? Thirdly, the appeal to the national chairman of the party to prevail on Governor Udom to allow a level playing field, again falls flat in reason and logic.
“This opinion is propelled by the fact that a governor who is promoting democracy and political inclusion cannot in turn desecrate the process of democracy. During the April 30th 2022 ad hoc ward elections, the governor participated at his ward, and this has been attested to by the petitioners.
“Isn’t it contradictory to accuse the same person, who participated in an orderly process at the ward, of not allowing a level playing field? At this point, one may be compelled to ask, what stopped the sponsors of this gibberish from participating in the Ad hoc Ward elections at their respective wards?
“Truth is, the sponsors of this fallacious petition were merely prepared for petitions and protests, and not for elections.
“Finally, the call on security agencies to operate within the confines of their law is, again, diversionary because Akwa Ibom is, and has remained, the most peaceful state in Nigeria,” the letter read in part.
The group stressed that the Ad Hoc delegates elections of April 30, 2022, during which no life was lost and no incident of violence recorded, demonstrated the conduciveness of the Akwa Ibom landscape and the capability of the government of Governor Emmanuel to maintain law and order.
“The renegades with the banner, Coalition of Ibom Political Groups, and other splinter groups who hurriedly assembled overnight, should retire from being used as agents of doom to paint an ugly picture or to create an impression that doesn’t exist about our state.
“In conclusion, we in the Mandate Eyes wish to state categorically that Governor Udom Emmanuel has not breached any section of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, regarding the imposition of a candidate on the people of the state.
“Rather, what the governor has done, in consonance with his political and economic inclusion agendum, is opening of the political space to encourage competition and deepening the process of democratic consolidation.
“These purveyors of falsehood should, henceforth, refrain from making unsubstantiated statements capable of threatening the peace currently being enjoyed in the state. They should see reasons to embrace truth and peace that have characterised the state from 2015”, it added.
