UDOM MEETS JONATHAN The Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government Mr Udom Emmanuel has stepped up his political ante to land the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Governorship ticket at the party primaries. Over the weekend, he had a close door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the villa. According to our sources at the Presidency, the former Zenith Bank Executive Director met with the nations no 1 citizen for about 2 hours, 34 minutes. He was reported to have arrived the presidential villa in the company of new Central Bank Governor and former Zenith bank colleague, Mr Godwin Emefiele and the First Banks GMD/CEO, Mr Steve Onasanya. The trio met the President jointly before it was later observed that the Akwa Ibom scribe later enjoyed a two hour private discussion. Our Aso Rock source disclosed that it was a regular routine to have captains of the Financial world visit the President and have minutes of interaction. The only difference was that on this occasion the other duo could been seen gesticulating by way of introducing their former colleague, Udom Emmanuel to the president. Udom Emmanuel is highly reported to be nursing a Governorship ambition in his home state of Akwa Ibom State after resigning as Executive Director and Group Head of Income Optimization , Financial Control and strategic Planning Dept at Zenith Bank before taking up the position of SSG. He is also believed to be very close to the new CBN Governor having worked closely together on the Board of Zenith Bank PLC since December 2006 and attended the Wharton Business School in the United States of America. Udom had stepped up stronger individual political moves to clinch the party ticket that is zoned to his Senatorial District. Our competent source further revealed that the first part of the discussion which involved Jonathan, Onassnya, Emefiele and Udom was slightly more audible than when Udom had a one-on-one with the President. The discussions centered on pleasantries and Financial matters. Presdident Jonathan is said to have expressed happiness at Udoms presence while jokingly referring to Udom as being more of a politician now than a banker. Mr President who is said to have suprisingly been in his good spirits especially after the kidnap of the Chibok girls in Borno told the other two that he knew Udom and had met him personally while enjoining him to bring his professionalism to bare in politics and not be discouraged. He also noted that he (Udom) is fortunate to be working alongside Governor Akpabio, who he noted is a dynamic leader and has political foresight and clear vision. The latter part of the meeting could only have centered on more political developments since the President had to excuse the other two (Emefiele and Onasanya). It may have been the original intention of the trio to facilitate a meeting between Udom Emmanuel and the President in a relaxed atmosphere since according to our source the President has been reluctant to meet with politicians especially 2015 aspirants as he directed them the National Chairman of the Party. This landmark move by Udom Emmanuel crowns what has been a marathon of political discussions with various stakeholders in Akwa Ibom state. Udom was also reported to have met with the former Governor, Victor Attah and had discussions for several hours amongst other senior citizens. Udom enjoys the support of the state party like the other aspirants from Eket Senatorial District as the state chairman of the party, Mr Paul Ekpo has reiterated that the Governorship slot will go to Eket Senatorial District in line with equity and the overall wishes of Akwa Ibom People. Ekpo who spoke with our correspondent was reacting to reports that the state party may have shifted their grounds on zoning given recent political insinuations. I can assure you that the party is firm and committed to actualizing the general wishes of Akwa Ibom. We were all witnesses to what happened at the townhall meeting where the people declared that the Governor slot be zoned the the third zone that is yet to have a taste of the seat. We have appropriately communicated our stand to the National body and with the dynamic leadership of our National Chairman, we are assured of proper action. It is therefore laughable to imagine anyone saying the PDP in Akwa Ibom State has abandoned zoning at this point. Section 7.2(g) of our partys constitution 2012 as amended under Aims and Objectives, states that the party shall, promote an egalitarian society founded on freedom, equality and justice. And Section 7.3(c) specifically states that the party shall pursue its aims and objectives by adhering to the policy of the rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices in pursuance of the spirit of equity, justice and fairness. So, we are acting in the spirit of the law. CULLED FROM NEWSLINK NEWSPAPERS
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 05:22:03 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015