As the die is cast in Akwa Ibom State between the incumbent governor, Udom Emmanuel of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate who happens to be the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Nsima Ekere, Daily Sun in this opinion poll speaks with Akwa Ibomites on the pattern of their votes in the election.
Excerpts:
I’m for Udom
David Joseph Michael, a businessman in the hospitality industry from Eket Local Government.
Well, looking at the antecedents of some of these politicians and the promises they have made, they have not been fulfilled. Even the APC that is making promises that if elected, they will do this and that is not different from the present government. I will say that the present government is trying its best, although, their best is not good enough. But I want to give them another chance because I believe that they are sincere, but time factor will not allow them. They need another tenure to be able to complete the projects they have embarked on. You can see they are building industries. Although, it cannot be compared with Lagos, but you can see that we have syringe, pencil and toothpick industries here. I know these are relatively small compared to what we have in Lagos, but we have to start somewhere. In the past, we never gave ourselves these opportunities of growing something. The present government is trying, I will grade it 45%, even at this, they have done well compared to others. So, my vote is going for PDP.
I want Nsima Ekere to be my governor
Endurance Edet, a patent medicine dealer from Ibesikpo/Asutan Local Government.
Actually, I didn’t want to vote for anybody, but I think I must vote and that is because, I don’t want the wrong person in that government house. I am voting for APC, because I prefer Nsima Ekere to be my governor come 2019. I think he is the best man for the job because I think he will take this state to another level, higher than this.
I will vote for Udom because of zoning
Savior Ndaeyo Edet from Essien Udim
Local Government, a public servant.
In my own view, we shouldn’t be talking about party but individuals. I will be voting according to my conscience. I pray that God directs me because I don’t want to vote because of money, to sell my right and at the end, I will be the one suffering. However, I will vote for Udom because if he is allowed to complete the second term, he will complete the structures he has embarked on so far. If another government takes over, that government is likely to abandon those projects. He is really trying and I will give him 60%. Again, I will vote for him because of zoning. After him, power would be returned back to Onna.
APC at the federal level will make me vote for Udom
Iniobong Akpan, a newspaper vendor from Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government.
My vote is definitely going to PDP and that is because I don’t like the APC administration at the federal level. Since APC came into power, the prices of everything have almost tripled. It is not like the PDP in the state has done anything. In fact, Udom’s performance in Akwa Ibom is zero, but it is still better than the APC administration at the federal level. In Akwa Ibom, we don’t have roads, no light and nothing is working.
I will go for Ekere
Timothy Usoro from Ini Local Government.
Udom has done nothing in Uyo, the projects you here on radio and read on newspapers are imaginary. He is talking about pencil industry, what are we going to use pencil for? How many people are working in that company? Is that the factory that he promised that he will give us? I have not seen anything that he has done. Or is it the syringe factory? Does he want us to be sick all the time so that he will give us injection? All the roads in Uyo today were done by the former governor, Godswill Akpabio. As I have not seen anything that Udom’s government has done, I can give him 20%. I don’t hate him in person, in fact I like him because he is a Christian. The only area he has a pass mark is in security. He has improved security in the state.
I am voting for APC. It is not because the APC candidate is perfect but because we need a change in Akwa Ibom. Nsima Ikere is trying in NDDC and he will bring that to Akwa Ibom. I can say that he knows the problems of Akwa Ibom because he has been a deputy governor in Akwa Ibom before but the present governor just came from nowhere, he knows nothing about Akwa Ibom state.
Ekere is the man for the job
Blessing Douglas Nango, a motorist from Eastern Obolo Local Government
Nsima Ekere is the man, don’t talk about any other thing and that is because you can see active human being in every sector of his life, privately and publicly. Same cannot be said about Udom. Look at the type of person you called a governor? There is nothing he has done to qualify him for a second tenure. You, what have you seen? There is hunger in Akwa Ibom, a state that receives nothing less than N15b. My dear, I am speaking with you in anger. Go round the state and what you see on ground speaks for itself. We are not talking about propaganda; I don’t believe in propaganda. I am telling you the realities on ground. The governor is a complete vacuum, we created a vacuum by bringing him in because where Akpabio stopped is where Nsima is going to start from. The governor has created a vacuum. The vacuum of four years is a wasted one. Do we talk about the toothpick industry? Where is the toothpick? A toothpick that you cannot purchase in Akwa Ibom? What is the employment opportunity the toothpick industry is generating? That is zero. Everything about Governor Udom is a scam. We don’t want to see him in the government house come 2019. In fact, he should go today.
I am undecided, but Udom has done well in security
Sony Ebong, the immediate past Chairman of Nollywood in Akwa Ibom from Ibiono Ibom Local Government.
I am not a party person but as an electorate, I have a stake in the political process on how leaders are elected. I have been in this state long enough to be able to really talk about the two political parties. To an extent, until individuals realise that it is not about parties any longer, but about performance and antecedents of individuals, and what they have performed during their past leadership opportunities. In this state, from 2008 till 2014, this state has been in security quagmire. It was a state you will not have the confidence to come out at night to do your business. People like us shoot movies at night and close very late. In those years, we didn’t have the opportunity to do that. You have to schedule your shoot, sometimes you turn scenes that were supposed to be shot at night into day for security reasons. But from 2015 till now, there were no records of kidnappings or extra judicial killings. So this governor that is seeking for second term, I am not talking about his party but his person. He came in with a different direction to development. His predecessor came in and did a lot in terms of infrastructural development and construction of roads. But this one came in and said he wants to make the state industrialised. He brought in foreign partners and has succeeded. So, I think he is the best man for the job.
Ekere’s antecedents has ewarned him my vote
Christiana from Uyo Local Government
I might not vote because we have moved from where I registered and it will be difficult for me to trek from here to that place. But if I were to vote, I am looking at individuals’ credibility. I am not voting for party but individuals’ credentials, their performance in the offices they have held before. The candidates of APC and PDP, I know them from afar, but the little I know of the APC candidate, Nsima Ekere, with what he has been able to achieve these few years at NDDC, the kind of projects he has embarked on has earned him my vote. What he has done for Niger –Delta zone, he has gone into communities, where the state governments have not been able to penetrate. He has gone into the rural areas, looking out for people’s needs and he has been able to meet those needs. He has been able to touch lives, especially those of the grassroots. Personally, the present government has failed the people of Akwa Ibom, I am not sure it has scored up to 40%. The infrastructures you are seeing in Akwa Ibom are the ones he met on ground and he has not even been able to maintain them. So, my vote is going for Nsima Ekere.
I may try Nsima Ekere
Emmanuel Udom, a tricycle rider from Uruan Local Government.
I have not concluded on who to vote yet. I have looked at the APC and the PDP candidates and I am not satisfied yet with what I am seeing in both candidates. I am looking out for the person that will be able to redefine Akwa Ibom. Someone that has integrity and will take the state to a greater height. We have had different governors in the past and few have done well. Someone like Attah in 2008 did well. If I see someone like him, my vote will go for him or her. So I am still observing the candidates of APC and PDP, I will make my decision later. Governor Udom hasn’t done well, I am looking for someone that can surpass him. I might try Nsima Ekere but I am yet to conclude.