One Hundred and Seven formidable youth groups in Akwa Ibom State have united to adopt the immediate past Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Nsima Ekere KJW, and President Goodluck Jonathan as their candidates for the 2015 gubernatorial and presidential contests.
The groups, acting under the aegis of Coalition of Akwa Ibom Youth Groups/Leaders, declared their stand on Tuesday when they met Mr. Ekere to present to him a communiqué urging him to run and signed by all their leaders.
They also endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan to seek re-election “after assessing the positive impact that the Transformation Agenda of the President has made on our Motherland Nigeria.”
Receiving the endorsement, Mr. Ekere thanked the youths of the state for their massive support for him and promised to heed their call once the ban on campaign was lifted in the next few weeks.
He expressed delight with the youths for recognizing the tremendous achievements of President Jonathan and for asking the President to seek re-election.
Mr. Ekere challenged the youths of the state to see the forthcoming contest as a referendum on their future and urged them not to allow themselves to be swayed by material or primordial considerations.
He promised to work with the youths to build a prosperous future, through industrialization, for them as part of his people’s development agenda.
A former South-South Zonal Auditor of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Engr. Akan Okon commended the youths for the show of solidarity and urged them to be unrelenting and focused in their support for Mr. Ekere and Dr. Jonathan.
The President of the coalition, Obong Iniobong John, disclosed that they decided to back Mr. Ekere after assessing all the governorship aspirants and realizing that he towered above all others in terms of experience, character, youthfulness, exposure, service and acceptability.
He read out a 13-point communiqué which called on “all sons and daughters of the state who believe in SELF-ACTUALIZATION and CONSOLIDATION OF UNCOMMON TRANSFORMATION drive of the Godswill Obot Akpabio-led administration to support the quest for an industrialized and self-reliant Akwa Ibom,” which Mr. Ekere represents.
The communiqué stated further: “Having been on ground in the last two and a half decades as an astute politician, Obong Nsima Udo Ekere is at home and familiar with the needs of Akwa Ibom people. This consistent relationship with the people shows an enormous sign of togetherness with the people and his determination to bring a necessary change to their fortune.”
It said the gubernatorial seat was justifiably zoned to Eket Senatorial District because of Section 7(2c) of the constitution of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) which states that “in pursuance of the principles of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee of the party at all levels.”
The communiqué stated that Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency, where Mr. Ekere hails from, was naturally positioned for the governorship seat because the Senate seat of Eket Senatorial District was rotating to Oron Federal Constituency in 2015 after Ikot Abasi and Eket Federal Constituencies had taken their turns since 1999.
It said that Eket Federal Constituency was out of contention because it had produced two former Governors, Dr. Clement Isong and General Udoakaha Esuene, and was currently occupying the prestigious seat of Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a federal agency spearheading the development of nine states for a tenure of four years.
Other youth leaders who spoke were Ndifreke Dick, Itoro Okon, Uko Clement, Paul Isangedighi, Rachael Nse and Otobong Ekpo.
A motion for the adoption of President Jonathan and Mr. Ekere was moved by Mr. Mbikoli Ntegwung and seconded by Mr. Williams Ibong.
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