Sensor Newspaper

In politics, when the goings are bad; when hopes are unfulfilled; when expectations hit brick walls; when one is enmeshed in political frustration and tossed by political tsunami; when political storm envelops one; consolation seems to lie on the fact that there is no permanent friend or enemy, but permanent interest.
Senator John James Akpanudoedeghe who drove the campaign boat of Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio in 2006 cannot be said to be in the best of times with Gov Akpabio.
They have fallen apart and the centre can no longer hold.
As a campaign manager for Chief Akpabio in Uyo, Sen. Udoedeghe had occasion to proclaim that God had ordained Chief Akpabio to be governor and he would be governor for eight years.
He had sacrificed time and energies and resources to work for the emergence of Chief Akpabio as governor, among the over fifty gubernatorial aspirants who threw their hat into the ring.
Today, all that is history. Senator Udoedeghe has put behind everything he said and did for Chief Akpabio in 2006 and now he wants to be governor.
To him, it was a political mistake to hazard a proclamation that God had ordained Chief Akpabio to govern as governor for eight years. According to him, Governor Akpabio is a single term governor
The deadly face-off between Governor Akpabio and his estranged campaign manager in 2006 has torn the political space in the state apart.
The two great friends have launched a vitriolic attack on each other. They are now in political war judging from their acerbic style of addressing each other at any given opportunity.
Probably out of political frustration or desperation, Sen. Udoedeghe is now bent on wresting power from the incumbent and to actualize his gubernatorial ambition, he has wooed Obong Victor Attah, the immediate governor to sympathize with his political cause.
He vividly remembered that Sen. Udoedeghe had worked against his political interest in 2006 when he (Obong Attah) desperately fought to enthrone his son-in law as governor in 2007.
Obong Attah kept the past behind him and endorsed Sen. Udoedeghe for governor for according to him, there is no permanent enemy or friend in politics but permanent interest.
The renowned architect had explained that he was now wining and dining with Sen. Udoedeghe because the latter has washed his hands clean.
Apparently alluding to the fact that Sen. Udoedeghe may not be popular with the electorate, he however saluted his courage for coming out to 'dare' Governor Akpabio and assured Akwa Ibom people that in military when the terrain changes, one must change the formation.
The man in the centre of the terrain is Governor Akpabio who has also fallen out with his mentor, though he has repeatedly denied any political rift with his mentor.
But political pundits believe that there is an apparent crack in the relationship of Obong Attah and Governor Akpabio, probably because of political differences.
With Attah's endorsement of Sen. Udoedeghe for governor, there was a general belief that Governor Akpabio and his estranged campaign manager would slog it out in the PDP primaries.
The PDP umbrella has not accommodated Sen. Udoedeghe, his own political party, hence he has decided to pitch his tent in the Action Congress of Nigeria.
However when the rumours were filling through the air that Sen. Udoedeghe would defect from PDP, not many believed him until recently when he declared to be governor in 2011 on the platform of ACN.
At the declaration, Sen. Udoedeghe said he decided to decamp from PDP for ACN as the latter stands for Justice, equity and fairness while tongue-lashing PDP for what he termed absence of internal democracy.
With the broom in his hands a symbol of ACN, Sen. Udoedeghe urged his teeming supporters to join him in sweeping off PDP in the state, believing that his emergence as gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of ACN, marked the end of PDP government in Akwa Ibom State.
The state chairman of ACN Mr. David Ekanem, the South South leader of the party and the National Chairman who was represented at the declaration by the national secretary, all expressed optimism that they were going to install CAN government in Akwa Ibom State and that Akwa Ibom people should prepare for a change of government.
But the former deputy governor in the state Obong Chris Ekpenyong has said that nobody in Akwa Ibom has the wherewithal or courage to confront a siting government in a state where the people have come to embrace PDP.
The Ikot Ekpene senatorial contender has also said that no opposition political party would thrive in Akwa Ibom as it would be extremely difficult to get the people to change their belief in PDP.
According to him, if there was misgovernance in the state, the people would have taken advantage and looked elsewhere.
Obong Ekpenyong maintained that when actual politicking commences, all opposing forces would simply fall in line according to him, PDP is a moving train and nobody can stand on the way of a moving train and go unscathered.
He described the endorsement of Sen. Udoedeghe by Obong Victor Attah as an action which was taken in the heat of political inflammation, pointing out that as a father, Obong Attah will not want to see his state governed by any political party other than PDP.
Interestingly, Obong Ekpenyong said he was envisaging all old alliances returning to the same table with Obong Attah driving the campaign machinery of Governor Akpabio in 2011.
He dismissed as false and baseless insinuation that the two leaders were locked in political tsunami and as such they cannot see face to face, noting that whatever happened was as a result of miscommunication between two leaders.

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