Ukpanah's Murder: His Last Breakfast Outing at Hiltop Mansion BY JERRY OKOPETO

Sometimes in the tenure of the Obong Victor Attah administration, the Late Albert Ukpanah had struck friendship with one of the commissioners. That commissioner was Godswill Akpabio who had built network of contacts with some oil companies that embarked on some community development strides, particularly infrastructural educational development of the State indigenes. Ukpanah was a community representative liaison officer with ELF, an oil giant.

A source said one day a top member of ELF management staff had sent the sum of $5000 (five thousand dollars) to Akpabio through Ukpanah who delivered same to Akpabio who was then a commissioner. This and other gestures automatically endeared Ukpanah to the commissioner that was nursing a gubernatorial aspiration.

A credible source said that, to achieve his governorship ambition, Akpabio appointed Ukpanah a State officer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to coordinate his group.  The Choice of Ukpanah as Akpabio’s group coordinator was informed by one, Ukpanah’s transparent honesty, two, as a former councilor and vice Chairman. He was at home with the grassroots. Ukpanah religiously delivered as expected and remained a PDP State officer representing Ukanafun in the State Chapter of the party.

Until 2012 the party in its stage-managed congress dropped Ukpanah. Around the festive period of last December, Governor Akpabio had invited Ukpanah alongside other former State officers of the Party for “peace talks”. The two friends exchanged banters at the Hiltop Mansion during which Akpabio is said to have acknowledged a text message Ukpanah had sent to the Governor about two years before. A source said the text message was on a personal matter which the Governor never replied. A source that attended the meeting said Akpabio revealed to the aggrieved former officers of the Party that he would like them to support gubernatorial aspiration of the Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, Mr. Udom Emmanuel as governor in 2015. Another source said that it was really not a peace talk per say but to sample the opinion of the grassroots about the SSG who many still consider as “a Johnny Just Come” (JJC) into politics, even as his banking background has made the people to believe that he could be too frugal for their liking.

A source disclosed that for the mere fact that Ukpanah was blunt about the governor’s “neglect” of the officer, officers seem to have heightened suspicion between the two “reconciled friends”. This was even compounded as Ukpanah had pitched tent with another aspirant who is also gunning for the number one seat at the Hilltop Mansion.

A source said sometime last February another meeting was convened at the Government House during which Ukpanah and eleven other reconciled politicians volunteered their signatories to be used for congratulatory message to the governor’s wife, Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio who was honoured on Saturday February 22, 2014 as the SUN Most Supportive First Lady. The publication appeared in The Pioneer Newspaper.

On the Wednesday March 12, 2014, Ukpanah was invited to the Hiltop Mansion. A competent source said the Late PDP chieftain had a breakfast at the Government House. He later had a close door chat with Governor Akpabio who gave him an undisclosed package. He later left for Ikono/Ini Town Hall meeting that was held at Ibiaku Ntuk Okpo. After another meeting in the evening, he retired to his 40, Mkpokporo home where he received a lethal telephone call from undisclosed visitors who came about past 8pm who wished to ascertain whether he was home. The PDP chieftain duly entertained the nocturnal guests at his frontage with their choice drinks: a bottle of stout and Remy Martins. These quaffed their choices before strangling their host, axed him on the head before zooming off.

In the meantime, series of reconciliation did not dampen or compromise his wavering support for his 2015 governorship aspirant, sources said. His arrowed commitment to the course of justice and equity for the people of Abak 5 was well known.

Political associates of the Late PDP chieftain who spoke with the paper said Senator Ukpanah’s position on Senate 2015 was that any aspirant for the hallowed chambers should negotiate with the people and conditions given. This is said to have irked some senatorial aspirants outside Abak 5 political flank.

The paper also gathered that as a member of Abak Elders Forum, his vocal and frank disposition was a major irony to many aspirants even as political saboteurs had embarked on orchestrated campaign to engender frosty relationship with some authorities.

During a condolence visit to the family shortly after the incident, former deputy governor, Mr. Nsima Ekere appealed to security agencies to leave no stone unturned in fishing out the killers of one of the founding fathers of PDP in the State, he described the killing as gruesome and devastating.

A PDP chieftain who interacted with our reporter expressed the hope that the State Government would deploy all the ammunition in its arsenal to ensure that the murderers are brought to book. Moreso as the State Governor, Chief Akpabio had been a personal friend to the Late PDP chieftain who had his last breakfast on his invitation on that fateful Wednesday.

However, a columnist with Insight Newspaper, Ekanem Moses has pointed out in the March 3, 2014 edition that, “killing Ukpanah means there are those who cannot take formidable challenges or opposition. Whoever wasted Albert Ukpanah owes God a great debt. We should not let go the ruthless, barbaric and cowardly killing of this nature”. The writer queried the difference between Akwa Ibom State and genocidal campaign in the North Eastern States. A close friend of the Late Ukpanah expressed pessimism of the security operatives sincerity who he said would do nothing for thorough investigation even as the killing is viewed by many as “political cleansing” of Abak 5.

The state Governor Godswill Akpabio, his Deputy Valerie Ebe and top Government functionaries are yet to issue a statement on the gruesome murder of the PDP chieftain fuelling speculations that there is a kind of mixed complicity and raising questions on the sincerity of Government in the murder sorry matter.