Again, Emmanuel Defeats Akpabio As PDP Wins Governorship Election In Akwa Ibom

By Akinwale Kasali

Incumbent Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel has, for the second time, defeated his estranged  former boss, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Emmanuel’s Candidate, Umo Eno, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, defeated Akpabio’s Candidate, Akanimo Udofia of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Eno was declared winner of the March 18, 2023 Governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

He polled 354,348 to defeat  Udofia who scored 129,602 votes and Labour Party (LP)’s Uduakobong who got 4,746 votes.

Eno was declared the winner by INEC Returning Officer in the state, Prof Emmanuel Adigio.

However, in a swift reaction, opposition Parties called for the cancellation of the results  by INEC, describing what took place on the 18th as “a war, not an election”

Akpabio, at the end of his two-term tenure, had picked Emmanuel as his successor. Emmanuel was an Executive Director at Zenith Bank Plc when Akpabio made him his Chief of Staff and later, his successor. But their relationship went very sour within a few months, and forced Akpabio to quit his position as the Minority Leader in the Senate, and defected to the APC.

Since then, the two men have been struggling to outwit each other politically. In 2019, Emmanuel thrashed Akpabio’s Governorship Candidate to get a second term office. In 2023, he has done it again.

Luckily for Akpabio, he is going back to the Senator after he secured a controversial ticket to run. He won the election.