In a near related development, major stake holders of Abak 5 have vowed to punctuate Aniekan Umanah’s House of Representatives ambition due to what they described as Aniekan Umanah’s uselessness to the division. One of the PDP stalwarts from Abak Local Government Area while acknowledging that the Area is seriously polarized however had submitted that Aniekan Umanah should forget about vying the House of Representatives position for Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency.
Our source observed that the Information Commissioner is yet to prove beyond reasonable doubts that his ambition to the National Assembly is people-driven.
Youths of Abak Local Government Area, the paper learnt are waiting for Aniekan Umanah to officially declare his intention to contest the House of Representatives position so that they can use the opportunity to revenge Umanah whom they described as inconsistent and unreliable.
In a statement of position signed by Abraham Isonguyo and Cletus Ubong, Convener and Secretary of Abak federal constituency Youth Movement, the group condemned what they described as Aniekan Umanah’s greed in Abak. The youths of the area are particularly angry with the Information Commissioner due to what they allege as Aniekan Umanah’s short-changing them for his selfish interest.
One of the aggrieved youths who spoke to our reporter in Abak said, last December, 2012, during the empowerment scheme of the member representing Abak State Constituency in the AKHA, Elder Friday Iwok, the lawmaker had reached out to some stakeholders in Abak asking them to nominate people for empowerment. Some of the stakeholders reached out to where Barr. Patrick Udomfang a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state as well as Aniekan Umanah the State Information Commissioner. It was learnt that while Udomfang nominated one Barr Offong, Aniekan Umanah nominated his brother Ubong Umanah and a Golf 3 Car was given to him during Friday Iwok’s empowerment on the 31st of December last year 2012.
The position of some of the youths, stakeholders including the women is that Umanah failed the moral and character test by nominating his brother to be a beneficiary. One of the women leaders said, if Aniekan Umanah as a Commissioner cannot empower his brother, then he is not only a disgrace but an embarrassment to the people of Abak. Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimized, the women leader who is a major PDP player in Abak stressed that Aniekan Umanah should be ashamed of his inability to be politically relevant in the politics of Abak Local Government Area. “As a commissioner, Aniekan should be able to empower people so that he will make a legacy. We in this community cannot point hands to any impact Aniekan has created in this community, he has not touched any of our children and he wants to contest election, he is not going anywhere”. The women leader posited.
To make matters worse, a close source to Friday Iwok told our reporter that Aniekan Umanah’s brother, Ubong Umanah must have gone to meet Friday Iwok to beg the lawmaker asking to be made a Personal Assistant to Iwok. An embarrassed Iwok, sources say had turned down Ubong’s proposal telling him that he (Iwok) can’t make him his personal assistant because already Ubong’s Brother Aniekan Umanah is a commissioner and secondly that him (Friday Iwok) still has some of his people of Abak state constituency to empower.
On the golf 3 car empowerment that Ubong got from Iwok, some powerful forces are said to have confronted Aniekan Umanah on why he had to nominate his brother as the beneficiary. A source alleged that Aniekan Umanah had responded that he wasn’t the one that nominated his brother Ubong that Ubong must have smuggled his name into it after he had nominated someone else. Those who confronted Umanah with this are said to have asked the information commissioner whom he nominated. A question Aniekan Umanah is said not to have had an answer to. But Elders and stakeholders had however described Aniekan Umanah as a liar whose excuse on Ubong’s nomination is so watery to be believed.
Friday Iwok confirmed this to our reporter when he affirmed that the nomination for empowerment of Ubong was done by the brother Aniekan Umanah. Iwok who spoke through his media aide Isonguyo Iniodu maintained that when he called for the nomination, Aniekan Umanah had nominated his brother Ubong Umanah while Barr Patrick Udomfang nominated one Barr. Offong.
When contacted, Aniekan Umanah declined comments as he failed to respond to series of text messages sent to his line till the paper went to bed.
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