You can’t impose candidate – Attah
… I’m for transparent primaries – Gov Akpabio  
Aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PD) from Akwa-Ibom State, yesterday stormed the party national secretariat, Abuja, to com­plain over claim that Governor God­swill Akpabio was planning to impose his anointed candidate.
At a meeting with the PDP Integration Committee for the zone led by Senator Iya Abubakar, former governor of the state, Obong Victor Attah, alleged that the race for the party ticket was skewed against most of the aspirants and warned against dire consequences.
Attah claimed that the party registers were being tampered with at the State Government House, Uyo:
“They know that we had a terrible disaster in 2011 and we don’t want that to happen in 2015. Why do some people collect the registers from where they belong and take them to the Government House? Why should they be the one to privately and individually form the list of delegates to go for congresses?
“Why should they make it impossible for those who genuinely left the party to come back and bring the register for them to be registered? So, if we don’t do this, I fear for what will happen in the election.”
However, Akpabio dismissed the claims as unfounded. In a statement in Abuja, he expressed regret over the claim of his immediate predecessor:
“That is falsehood, nothing like that. All the wards and chapters have their registers and of course the state party chairman also has custody of the ones we should have custody of.
“Such allegation is baseless and it is false. You have to understand that this is political time and people are doing their best to blackmail one another, bring about falsehood in an attempt to win elections, primaries or gain political power.
“I focus on good governance in my state and the PDP is out to ensure elec­toral independence.
“I have a lot of respect for elders and the founding fathers of the party and the President finds it expedient to make me a member of the party`s inner caucus.
“I have deep respect for the party elders also the governor that hosted the founding members and all the PDP faith­ful in Uyo.
“I am a strong party man and I identify with working committee in my state and the people and all the funding and found­ing fathers. The problem in my state is that we have one or two party founding fathers who lost primaries in 2011 and from that period, they lost interest in the PDP.
“In 2011, they attended ACN ral­lies and stood on the podium to raise the hands of the opposition up. If those people had won, the PDP would have been extinct in Akwa Ibom, but by the grace of God, we defeated them.’”
Akpabio maintained that the PDP was intact in Akwa Ibom State and expressed gratitude to the PDP leadership for con­stituting the committee, which he said would ensure true reconciliation among party members in the state:
“The doors are still open for all of them who are still interested to join the party, whoever wants to come back, can come back,
“If the elders want to return, they can come but we cannot do so by compro­mising the election of Mr. President and the governorship election of PDP in Akwa Ibom state.
“Akwa Ibom is a PDP state though we do not mind opposition, but we would not want to be defeated by the opposi­tion.’’
He debunked insinuations that he was planning to impose the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Udom Em­manuel, on the people:
“In all these things they are saying, the result is not yet out we would know when the result of the primaries is out.
“I assure you that I am a democrat and I will never impose any candidate on the good people of Akwa Ibom state. The candidate will be selected by the people of the state.’’
His position was corroborated by the chairman of the party in the state, Paul Ekpo, who told newsmen that allega­tions that the party was supporting Ak­pabio to impose his anointed candidate as the party governorship flag bearer was baseless:
“We are here on the invitation of the committee; the party is open to all and we are still in serious consultations with stakeholders. How can people be complaining about alleged imposition of candidate when the primary election has not been conducted?”

Akwa Ibom 2015: PDP crisis deepens