Senate Tussle: I Won’t Surrender My Mandate To Akpabio – Ekpoudom

As the battle for Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial seat rages, former deputy inspector general of police Udom Ekpoudom has said he is under pressure to surrender the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket to Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Ekpoudom, who was declared the authentic ticket holder by the Federal High Court in  Abuja, spoke to journalists in Abak, vowing that he would not surrender the mandate.

He said he had earlier in the run-up to the 2015 elections dropped his quest for the seat to Akpabio who was then ending his tenure as governor, to move to the senate in order for him to have a  safe landing and be politically relevant after eight years as governor.

He said: “In 2015, it was the turn of Abak Federal Constituency, the zone that had never produced senator before among the four federal constituencies making the senatorial district.

“This time again, I am under pressure to drop my ambition after a decision had been taken before the stakeholders of the zone in the House of the former minister of petroleum, Atuekong Don Etiebet, that I should be the one to go this time. No amount of pressure would force me to betray my people because they will chase me away from my community.”

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“My ambition for senate is not a personal project, but the project belongs to my people for the redemption of the Abak- five communities which have not had any shot at the National Assembly for the past 16-years.

“It’s laughable to say that I stepped down for anyone, some people have been appealing to me to step down not today, not tomorrow, but I’ve been saying no, and will continue to say no, because it is not my project precisely, but the peoples project; I don’t want to be chased away from Abak federal constituency.” 

“I don’t want to betray my people, you can even imagine now, for 16 years this part of Akwa Ibom has not produced a senator, it’s only Ikot Ekpene which had produced five senators and somebody wants to come in again, it’s not possible. Abak–5 is ready or the whole Ikot Ekpene senatorial district is ready, I look at those coming to tell me to step down as enemies of Abak federal constituency.

 “Even if they want to offer me head of state, I won’t accept, all I want is to get what belongs to us. If Abak loses now, it would affect the whole federal constituency and senatorial district”

“That is how desperate my brother is, he has the right to do whatever he wants to do. If I were him, I wouldn’t go because he has turned himself into the enemy of Abak people and that’s not the best, Don Etiebet is somebody that we respect in Akwa Ibom, if somebody like that talk to him and he didn’t hear who will talk to him and he will hear.”