• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Intrigues, horse trading define emergence of 7th Akwa Ibom Assembly speaker

Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly

The election of Aniekan Bassey as the 7th speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly was defined by high level of intrigues and horse trading, deftly deployed to achieve a political goal.

At the end of the exercise, the mission of having Bassey, a two-term lawmaker from Uruan State Constituency elected by the 25 member-assembly as the new speaker, was achieved.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which is the dominant party in Akwa Ibom, having won all the seats in last year’s general election, played the deciding factor in the exercise.

As part of the strategy, a hurriedly convened meeting was held few hours before the election of the speaker, shattering the ambition of those who had nursed such.

It was at the meeting that Bassey was said to have been endorsed by the kingmakers.

By being directly involved in the behind-the-scene negotiations, the party did not present any other candidate for the position.

The party, according to its internal democracy principle had zoned the position of the speaker to Uyo federal constituency in Akwa Ibom North West senatorial district.

This should best be understood against the backdrop of the fact that other key political positions in the state are equally zoned to other federal constituencies.

For instance, in the distribution of political offices in the state, the governorship position currently occupied by Governor Udom Emmanuel is zoned to Eket federal constituency in Akwa Ibom south senatorial district while the deputy governor, Moses Ekpo is from Abak federal constituency in Akwa Ibom North East senatorial district.

The decision of the party not to present any other candidate from the Uyo federal constituency in spite of the availability of other lawmakers from the area who were considered qualified too appeared to have been part of the game plan.

There are four state constituencies in Uyo federal constituency in which the four lawmakers who are representatives of the area were legible to take a shot at the converted position.

According to party sources, since the recently appointed Head of the Civil Service, Effiong Essien and the immediate past commissioner of finance, Linus Nkan who may likely be recalled are from Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area, one of the four council areas in Uyo federal constituency, the local government area was no more in the race as it were, to produce the speaker of the 7th assembly.

Similarly, while the other state constituencies including Uyo, Nsit Atai and Uruan were top contenders for the speakership position but the odds seemed to have favoured Uruan state constituency more than others.

For instance, its location in the northern flank of the state where the terrain is rough and tough makes it difficult for the local government area to enjoy quality physical infrastructure as other parts of the state, though this is being addressed by the present administration.

Again, for whatever reason, the local government area has not been fortunate enough to have top ranking political office holders apart from few commissioners and most significantly it has yet to produce a member of the National Assembly since the return to civil rule in 1999.

This consideration, according to sources, may have been the decider for the council area when it mattered most in the election of the 7th speaker of the state assembly.

Perhaps, what may have stood in favour of Aniekan Bassey, the lawmaker from Uruan state constituency who was eventually elected speaker was the politics of the next general election in 2023 where the governorship post is expected to go Akwa Ibom North West district.

It is believed that the governor would be happy to produce his successor to crown his political career with success and may be interested in working with the head of the legislative assembly who would most likely buy into his vision.

But many had thought that the election of the speaker would be thrown open to all the legislators from the four state constituencies in line with the dictates of open governance and electoral practices, but it was not to be.

Though the representative from Ibesikpo Asutan, Aniekan Uko was highly favoured to clinch the position having served as Speaker briefly before his election was nullified by the election petition tribunal in 2015, his party did not consider him worthy any longer for the office of the speaker.

Such were the intrigues that were thrown up during the just concluded election of the number three most important political personality in Akwa Ibom State.

Again with the defection of Godswill Akpabio, former Senate minority leader from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last August, it was expected that the Governor would fully assume the control of the party structures from the ward to the state level.

And if the election of the 7th speaker of the state was an indication that the governor is in a position to decide who gets what in the state, many observers say this might have been achieved effortlessly.

Bassey’s candidature was not without opposition as many of his critics say he was not into political activism, not visible enough in the political horizon and in recent times did not make significant contributions while serving in the state assembly by way of motions and sponsorship of bills.

His admirers however, believe that as an emerging political leader, he would make the difference in ensuring a cordial working relationship between the legislative and executive arms of government.

Born in 1978, he holds a first degree in Chemistry from the University of Uyo and a Master’s degree in Sociology from the same university.

 

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo