PDP elders of Eket Senatorial District have unanimously zoned the Senate ticket to Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State.
This is coming on the heels of Governor Emmanuel’s decision not to contest for Senate in the area in 2023.
In a well attended meeting yesterday in Eket, a former Federal Minister and a two term House of Representatives member, Chief Ndueso Essien confirmed that Emmanuel had last week told them that he was not interested in the Senate hence the meeting to take a decision that would continue to foster unity and peace in the Senatorial District.
Essien commended the Governor for toeing the path of honour by not showing interest in contesting for the Senate seat “as is becoming a tradition with Nigerian Governors”, thereby scuttling the principle of zoning which has been the unifying factor in the body politics of Akwa Ibom State and Eket Senatorial District in particular.
One of the elders who spoke at the event and a former Nigerian Ambassador to Russia, Barr Assam Assam maintained that, “zoning has kept us together, it remains the only political mechanism of unity in the country and the State.
“Any attempt at changing the rules now will propel into motion events of disastrous proportion, so, lets stick to the principle of zoning.”
Also satisfied that the Senate seat should rotate back to Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency from where it started in 1999, the “king makers” resolved to make the decision official by calling for a motion.
In a motion moved by Barr Ekpenyong Ntekim and seconded by Barr Assam Assam, SAN, anchored by a voice vote, the Stakeholders unanimously zoned the 2023 Senate seat to Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency and called on interested aspirants from the three local government areas that make up the zone to prepare for scrutiny.
“We expect to have very competent persons from Ikot Abasi Federal Constituency and they will be subjected to scrutiny, out of which we will choose who to represent us in the red chambers, the Senate is a serious place and we want to send our very best there for effective representation.” Essien said, adding that they would meet with Senatorial aspirants within two weeks.
The Elders also discussed the Governor’s worry concerning bottlenecks created by communities in Eket Senatorial District against investors and resolved to introduce a new matrix of engagement to remove all community based impediments to the industrialization of the district.
