Akpabio cannot impose candidate on Akwa Ibom –Robert Umoette Robert Umoette is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this brief encounter with REPORTER, Lukmon Akintola, in Lagos, he speaks on why he wants to be the next governor of Akwa Ibom State, the politics of the state and other critical issues People know you as a successful businessman, what is attracting you to politics? I have been in the business of touching lives, not just in Akwa Ibom State but all over Nigeria. I have also found that the best way to touch lives is to be actively involved in politics. I tell a lot of my friends that if you stay out of the politics, at the end of the day, all you will end up doing is sit around and complain. If you want to make a change and impact positively on the lives of people, the best way is to get involved in politics. That way, you can bring about the desired change, as it will also give you the opportunity to touch more lives. Politics is about structures; what structures do you have on ground in your state to make you achieve your political goal? There is no local government area in Akwa Ibom State where we don’t have people on ground. We have 31 local government areas and we cut across all. Robert Umoette is a structure and that is the truth. I have been in the system long before today; I am not a political neophyte, it is just that I have been identified more with my businesses in the private sector. I have been a private sector person, but I think it is time for me to step it up by going into the political realm. Where I will be able to bring my desires to the state. Politics is also about affiliations; where do you belong in the politics of Akwa Ibom? I am a friend of all the groups in the state because I will not limit myself to one person. I am a friend of both Godswill Akpabio and former Governor Obong Attah group. I am a friend of everybody and that gives me an edge. Are you aware that the shoe, which you aspire to wear, is big, can you cope with it? The people, who know me well in Akwa Ibom State, will tell you that the shoe cannot be too big for me because they know what I have been doing and what I can do if I become the governor of the state. I have what it takes to be governor and I am not bragging about it. I am not worried about the shoe size. Government is all about delivering service to the people. People who praise elected persons when they do their jobs are only doing it because there have been people who didn’t carry out their responsibility. His Excellency, Chief Godswill Akpabio, is riding on a foundation laid by his predecessor, Obong Victor Attah, for Akwa Ibom State. He fought the resource control battle for Akwa Ibom and that is why the state is getting the kind of money it’s getting today. The incumbent has been following the plans of his predecessor; the plans had been laid out. So the successor of Chief Godswill Akpabio, which will be me, will simply follow in that stride and expand it because in development, there is always room for improvement. There is a speculation that the current governor wants to impose a stooge. Are you aware of that? Imposition will not work. If imposition works in Akwa Ibom, then the current governor won’t be there today. The way the will of God brought him to be the governor of the state is the same way it will bring me to be the next governor of the state. Imposition does not work, it has never worked and it won’t work in our state. Obong Umana Umana is a very strong contender for the post of governor. Are you prepared to face him? He is strong, no doubt. He has been in government for almost two decades. As a civil servant, he was there and then he became the Commissioner of Finance under Obong Victor Attah; and then he became the most powerful secretary to the state government we’ve ever had in Akwa Ibom State. Now to your question, I have always said before now that if I were Obong Umana Umana, I would rather play the politics of relevance than wanting to be the king myself. First, he does not belong to the right zone. If he were from Eket Senatorial district, I would say, why not? Today, people in his camp criticise the incumbent governor for some of his actions but what we must know is that he is part of the group they are criticising right now. If he is criticising Chief Godswill Akpabio, he is indirectly criticising himself. As an Akwa Ibom person, what in your thinking is the place of Akpabio in history today? He has changed the way the average Nigerian views the average Akwa Ibom person. That is the best he has done. Years back, as an Akwa Ibomite, except you are doing well for yourself, if you walk in somewhere and say you are from Akwa Ibom, people would look at you awkwardly. But today, people give you a second look when you say you are from Akwa Ibom and that is the best he has done. His free education programme is also a good step because education is the first step to liberating people. In terms of infrastructure development, he has tried because if you are not someone who goes home often, you won’t be able to find your way home anymore. He has done well. But there is room for improvement. It can only get better. I will be able to say that he has done excellently when I know what comes from the federation account and what is internally generated. What comes from the Federal Government is public knowledge, but what is internally generated is not public knowledge. What is the cost of the total project is also to some extent not totally public knowledge. So for you to access any government, you need to know what comes in from the Federal Government, the internal revenue generated and, by extension, the cost of projects executed. It is only then you can say with conviction if the government has done well, very well or that it has failed. Akpabio is being applauded because we have seen governors in different states who have governed for eight years without doing anything worth celebrating for their people. That is the fact. Any Akwa Ibom person who says Akpabio has not elevated the development in the state is a lair: he has done well. But has He done very well? I cannot say that. It is believed in this part of the world that politics is a dirty game: How prepared are you for the dirtiness? When people say politics is a dirty game, I laugh. There have been many states where elections have been held without violence. I personally tell people in my state not to allow themselves to be used as thugs. I don’t preach violence, the electoral laws forbid violence, so how can we preach it? Politics, in itself, is not a dirty game rather it is those that play it that make it appear dirty. For me, I will elevate governance just as I will play politics according to the rules.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:20:09 +0000
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