Every loyal party man must abide by his party’s decision – Hon. David Etuk

Hon.  Ubong David Etuk is an immediate past Special Assistant on Projects to the AkwaIbom State Governor, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio (CON). A native of Ikot Idem in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area, he resigned  his appointment to contest for the ticket to represent Etinan Federal Constituency on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the just concluded primaries. In this interview with newsmen, he bares his mind on the outcome of the nominations, his future in the party and other related issues on the electoral process. Excerpts.

Welcome back from your party primaries Sir and what was the experience?
Thank you very much. It has been a very interesting and challenging exercise but a very worthwhile experience on our polity. I learnt a lot of things on this electoral road and it has given me a deeper insight on leadership and an electoral process.

What is your assessment of the House of Representatives Primaries which you participated in as an aspirant?
Every party has their own ways and processes and it was agreed that The Speaker of the State Legislature, Rt.Hon . Samuel Ikon was the best choice to fly the flag of the party for Etinan Federal Constituency.

As such, every loyal party man abides by the decision of his party. I am a committed and loyal party man and I stand by the decision of my party. The fact remains that it is not yet the turn of Etinan Local Government Area to produce a representative for the Federal Constituency, but where the elders of the party from Nsit Ibom who would have had their turn now choose unanimously to stand by the decision of the party, it is only left for me to patiently wait for what the future holds. It is a sacrifice that has been made already and I abide by it.

I believe in the justice system of the party and I believe that Hon. Samuel Ikon is perhaps the best for Etinan Federal Constituency at this time and season. We will encourage him to succeed.
Even in the days of the Israelites, God allowed them the luxury of choosing the kind of king that they deserved, whether bad or good and we have come to accept the decision taken on this process.

I have committed myself to the PDP and I will work with the party to make sure that the people of Etinan Federal Constituency see reason to allow the party represent them at the House of Representatives once again in 2015.
I have so much confidence in my boss, His Excellency, Chief (Dr.) Godswill Obot Akpabio and I believe that I was the best person to interpret his vision and passion for Etinan Federal Constituency and to protect his ideologies and goals for the greater AkwaIbom State especially when taking into consideration, my grassroots understanding of the expectations of the common man from the government and I still do believe that I am the best except that the timing may differ.

How would you assess your party’s nomination process?
I am in a system where most of the players are my friends and people I respect. I do understand they were constrained within the limits of loyalty to protect the interest of the system which may eventually be for my own good.
Of course, I may not completely agree with their interpretation of how to treat a friend when subjected to intensive pressure against your wish. The party has made a decision and we must move on.

Did you have any political differences with Governor Akpabio prior to the nomination exercise?
Governor Godswill Akpabio is my mentor and boss, a General with an unprecedented combination of discipline and charity. The whole meaning of my pivotal influence in politics today is attributed to him.

Everything I do or refuse to do both in government and community have always been to reflect his deep rooted interests and love for the common man of the State. I have done that generously well. Our Governor may today be misunderstood and he may even make mistakes as a human being, but you must give him his due legacies as far as the history of the new AkwaIbom State is concerned.

Our Governor is a man of honour, compassionate to a fault, always ready to stand by the oppressed and completely willing to defend the defenceless even at the expense of his domestic comfort. He remains an exemplary leader, a statesman and a promise keeper.

Do you have any immediate or long term plans to defect from the PDP?
There have been pressures from other parties to decamp but I have resisted every such permutations. The PDP is a good party. The policies and ideologies of the party suit my person. I may disagree once in a while on certain issues that bothers on leadership generally, but that does not define the essence of the party.

I am very comfortable in the PDP family and I believe in a focused and consistent ideology that every party man must join hands to build the kind of party we need for a prosperous future.

Leaving the PDP will not be my option at any stage because I believe that as leaders, we should have firm political ideologies that should encourage the younger generation who are closely following our actions and being inconsistent at this moment by defecting should not be given a thought even for a second as I have chosen to believe and support the manifesto and blueprint of the PDP to enhance the lives of the people.

My mission to offer my service for an elective office revolved on the ideologies of the PDP and I do not intend to have any distractions to leave as I have channelled all my efforts in making the party succeed at the general elections in 2015.

As a leader, I believe, we must learn to accept the wishes of our party hierarchy because the decision of the part remains supreme and it will be very unnecessary for me to work against a political structure I have committed myself to build over the years. I remain very loyal and will always be an active team player in the run up to the general elections.

As you are aware, there is not much time to the general elections, so the party must move on to the next chapter of our electoral process as we prepare to launch our campaigns for the general elections and that is how it should be.

What is your advice to your supporters?
The driving force behind my passion to serve is to touch the lives of the people and to change our communities for the better. I can still do that under any platform that God eventually gives me to serve.
I will serve in any capacity and still be useful to my people and the state at large, but they must be orderly, accept the decision of the party and avoid any untoward acts as I will remain committed to protecting their interests at all times.

The future obviously is pregnant with a lot of possibilities. I will sustain my empowerment programmes and continue to develop my community as I have consistently done in the past years. There is so much to do in touching the lives of my people and I will ensure that I continue to give them my utmost commitment to enhance their lives.

I want to use this opportunity to commend the  most pro- active and effective campaign team that anyone  could wish for led by the Chief Pilot, a veteran, a grassroots mobilizer and well tested manager on the political terrain, a former Council Chairman of Etinan Local Government Area, Obong (Hon) Ubong Emah who for the first time in the history of our House of representatives campaigns, took time to re-invent the peoples interest in the democratic process.

My team brought me face to face with the true meaning of democracy as the ‘’Government of the people, by the people and for the people’ . I am eternally indebted to the team and would advise them to consider this period as a useful recess because the people are still waiting for us.

I also wish to thank the many groups like Desmo, Dewa, Kidi, Models, EFCC, Students, widows, market women, artisans, tipper drivers and many others for their love and support. 

I thank the Church for their spiritual support and prayers during my aspiration to the House of Representatives. I want them to understand that party primaries is a selection process that can take many forms, accepted only to good and loyal party members. That is why they should not forget the scriptural admonition that ‘’ in everything, give thanks to God’’.

The traditional institution in Etinan Federal Constituency must be commended for their wise counsel and fatherly role during the electioneering process. Words are not enough to appreciate their belief in me.
I want to remind them that the night might be in its darkest moments, but joy cometh in the morning and the sun will still never set on Etinan Federal Constituency.

What are your future plans?
In line with the party guidelines, I had resigned my appointment to run for this election, but I am always ready to serve the government in any capacity that it deems fit.
I intend to devote more time to re-discovering myself and making myself available to the service of God and humanity. This government is people oriented and I believe there are bigger opportunities to serve the people.

Thank you sir for your time and we wish you the best
I remain grateful for this opportunity to express my views.