Re: Ibibio Elders 'haven't endorsed SSG Udom'

 Our attention has been drawn to a news report promoted on the cover page and published at page 5 of The Nation of July 30, 2014, with the caption 'Akwa Ibom 2015: We haven't endorsed Udom, says Ibibio Elders' wherein the Chairman of Ibibio Elders Forum, Dr. Okon Akpan Uko is allegedly quoted to have denied that Ibibio Elders Forum had declared support for Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel's gubernatorial ambition during his visit to the Forum a few days earlier.

Dr. Uko, in the said report is quoted as saying:-
'We only received him out of courtesy and wished him well in his future endeavours. We told him to continue with his consultations peacefully. How such visit now translates to us accepting his candidature is what we cannot understand. He only came to see us as one of the aspirants eyeing the governorship seat. I even told him to I don't know he was eyeing the governorship seat. There is no way I would have endorsed a man I don't know. A man that has not been in the state…'

We understand that following this report, a similar story has also been published in local newspapers in Akwa Ibom State.

We wish to state that it is either  unlikely or most unfortunate and disingenuous that Dr. Okon Akpan Uko could have made above comments in the said telephone interview after he, in council, had openly declared the support of Ibibio Elders Forum to Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, Secretary to the State Government, (SSG) Akwa Ibom State.

We view this development as highly regrettable and grossly embarrassing not only to the Forum and the public but to the vast array of prominent leaders and notable political figures across the state that accompanied the SSG to the visit on July 25, 2014.  Accordingly, we condem this double speak  in its entirety.

Vividly, we recall that at this event, Dr. Uko made various profound statements about the character and personality of Mr. Udom Emmanuel and emphatically commended his unassailable intellectual prowess, managerial ingenuity and humane disposition which he noted set him apart as a credible and competent successor to Governor Godswill Akpabio in 2015.

For the same Dr. Okon Akpan Uko, who we hold in very high esteem, to have also turned around to describe Mr. Udom Emmanuel in another interview as 'a man he does not know' will be nothing other than a manifest display of insincerity. This type of character  is ignoble, detestable, indefensible and completely condemnable in the leadership of any organization and in this case the prominent and notable elders group like the Ibibio Elders Forum.

This development is very instructive. Hence, to say that whatever must have prompted this has raised serious moral and credibility questions and exposed Ibibio Elders Forum to ridicule, is to say the least.

We are at a lost how Dr. Uko or the leadership of the Forum could deny the (recorded) material facts of the said endorsement which they presented initially in a well-composed TRIBUTE  by the Forum. The said tribute which was printed, circulated and presented by the Ibibio Elders Forum PRO, Hon. (Obong) Barrister Tony Mike Akpan, reads in part:
'…Udom Gabriel Emmanuel like the biblical David is anointed king.
His Excellency, Chief Godswill Akpabio will pass on the mantle of governorship to Mr. Udom Emmanuel to continue the uncommon transformation of Akwa Ibom State….
WE SUPPORT YOU. WE KNOW YOU WILL BE GOVERNOR.
Remember Ibibio Elders in your kingdom of the Hill top mansion come 2015.
Appoint us Ministers, SSG, Ambassador, Commissioners, Special Advisers etc.
Udom is the Right way to go, Akwa Ibom people Go for Udom Emmanuel as Governor come 2015
Let us rise and give him a standing ovation God bless you all”

Neither comments by the Secretary of the Forum, Dr. Emmanuel Akpanobong nor any other member of the Forum who spoke during the event betrayed above initial documented position of the Forum which the Forum's Chairman Dr. Okon Akpan Uko ultimately affirmed when he made the following declarations in his speech which was recorded and properly documented, parts which is reproduced below:
'You are going to be the governor of Akwa Ibom State in 2015. And we will support you. I was one of those who attended the Thanksgiving Service organized for you recently. I was highly impressed by the testimonies of all the good things said about you and the many great things you have silently done, the lives you have touched and your selfless sacrifices and contributions to the uplift of humanity. I was particularly touched by the testimony of your contributions to the building of the Church. And because you have served God, He will honour and raise good men to work for you. Your master, Chief Godswill Akpabio has done a lot but there are certain things that he said he will do which you will have to continue from where he stopped. He said he will build industries, you will have to ensure that this and many other things are done'.
(These statements were recorded and could be aired to clear all doubts)

Having reviewed the above documented proceedings of Mr. Udom Emanuel's visit to Ibibio Elders Forum, it is obvious from the foregoing that the statement allegedly credited to Obong Dr. Okon Akpan Uko in the said telephone interview was made in bad faith as it contradicts the position taken by Dr. Uko in Council, as the Chairman of Ibibio Elders Forum.
Sincerely, we regret the embarrassment that this situation might have caused the SSG, his entourage and the discerning public and wish to disassociate ourselves from this unnecessary denial.
Signed:
 Rt. Hon.(Obong) Thomas O. Akpan.         
Member, Ibibio Elders Forum.                       
 for: Concerned Elders, Ibibio Elders Forum