PDP files Udom Emmanuel, Moses Ekpo in INEC By Radar Newspaper - G22 meets President Jonathan, wants consensus candidate among them – Final meeting with Jonathan comes up Monday RADAR Online can report that, at last, mid night of yesterday, the name of the former secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel was filed in Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the governorship candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom state by the party. Mr. Moses Ekpo who hails from Abak local government area and a National Commissioner in the National Population Commission, Abuja, was submitted as deputy governorship candidate and running mate to Udom Emmanuel. Udom’s running mate, Ekpo is a former Commissioner for Information in the old Cross River state and also Commissioner for Information in Akwa Ibom state and later a pioneer Director- General in the National Census Commission. RADAR Online can authoritatively report that members of the G22 arising from their meeting last night sent a four-man delegation to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan for the first-time since the imbroglio started in December 8. The meeting started at about 9pm in the Aso Rock Presidential Vila and lasted for three hours. Our sources who were in the team, confirmed to us that the president expressed shock over the matter, saying that he was not aware of any crisis in the Akwa Ibom governorship primaries that took since December 8. He wondered why the state governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio and or the national leadership of the party have not briefed him of the matter. RADAR Online learnt that the president made frantic efforts to speak with Akpabio on mobile phone but all the governor’s lines were switched off. The G22 made their position clear to the president which is that they have rejected the outcome of the December 8 governorship primaries and that Udom Emmanuel is Akpabio’s maternal cousin as such cannot be imposed on Akwa Ibom people. They told the president that one of them (G22) should rather be picked by the president if the party must win the 2015 governorship and presidential elections. The President, we gathered, was surprised at the development in Akwa Ibom and sought to find out from some of his (Presidential) aides, if they are aware of the matter. Our sources informed that there seems to be a grand design between Akpabio and the presidential aides to keep the president permanently in the bark on the Akwa Ibom governorship primaries’ impasse. RADAR Online learnt that lots of compensatory measures and financial reward have been used to ensure that the president was not informed of the Akwa Ibom crisis by his aides and the party’s national leadership as President Jonathan was deeply embarrassed on the development. The meeting between the president and the G22 was rescheduled for next week Monday for a final decision to be taken on the matter. The national leadership of PDP, Governor Akpabio and Udom Emmanuel are also expected to be in attendance. Meanwhile, available to RADAR Online indicated that the PDP and INEC will be cited for court contempt because the Vacation Court’s ruling have be appealed by the G22 and Notice of Appeal and Order of Stay of Execution duly issued by the Court of Appeal to the effect, the Appeal Court directed that status quo ante should be maintained on the matter pending the outcome of the appeal. Some senior lawyers among the G22 have hinted RADAR Online that PDP risks not having a candidate in the 2015 governorship election having filed in the name of Udom Emmanuel against an existing court order. Legal expects have conclude that Udom Emmanuel’s candidature in the 2015 governorship is a gamble of chance which is on a probability as the fate of Udom now hangs on the courts.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 10:54:19 +0000
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