In the next few months, the constitutional provisions guiding change of baton in various positions of leadership would be put to action. The expected change of political baton would be the end result of national elections in April.Preparatory to the elections, the various political parties have been through the of candidates for the various positions. One party that clearly had a spectacular showing in this regard is the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).On the heels of the nomination exercise, the momentum of presidential campaigns peaked across the country. Billed on zonal bases, it began in Katsina and ended up in Port Harcourt, the capital of President Jonathans home of the South-South.Remarkably, at each of the rallies, PDP used the moment to confirm results of the gubernatorial primaries conducted in the various states of the zones. In Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom State, Delta and Rivers states, Bayelsa and Cross River states got a symbolic confirmation of the primary results through the presentation of the party flags to gubernatorial candidates.Among the governorship candidates, one man, Chief Godswill Akpabio, was the cynosure of all eyes.Cheered by a mammoth crowd of supporters from the 31 local government areas of Akwa Ibom State, the governor walked majestically up the rostrum for an act that silenced all skeptics. Before then, many had speculated that Akpabio would not get the flag because of one imaginable reason or another. But the PDP Acting National Chairman, Bello Mohammed noted that Akpabio was accepted as the standard bearer of the party in Akwa Ibom State, based on his unbeatable profile of performance.Indeed, a closer look at Akwa Ibom State shows a portrait of massive dose of uncommon transformation. In todays politics, a very few leaders outstandingly worked to provide service above selfish interest. For such persons, of which Akpabio has been variously named among, the safety, protection and progress of the immediate communities are the watchwords of their existence.The literary legend, Chinua Achebe, writing about the encroachment of colonialism in African cities presented the picture of a typical leader, using Okonkwo of Umoaffia with the never-say-die spirit. Particularly, noted about the early leaders was their covenant with people, built around absolute truth. Propaganda, lies and rumour mongering was controlled from the lifestyle of people through self-discipline and upbringing. That was the yardstick of relationship many years ago.Today, many Nigerians have dumped the virtues to the detriment of the entire society. The result has been decayed infrastructure in many sectors of the economy.We have seen the rise of men feeding fat from the coffers of the nation at the expense of the common tax payers.In Akwa Ibom State, the people had difficulties sending their children to schools, as teachers abandoned the wretched buildings to seek for other means of sustaining their families. There was general infrastructural decay and a lot of communities were completely cutoff for decades. There was gnashing of teeth in silence.Since evil cannot reign forever, in 2007, Akpabios emergence at the scene of governance through prayers, positively turned the circumstances of the state around, with uncommon transformation. These uncommon strides in all sectors formed the foundations, while the entire state went with one mind to celebrate the presentation of the PDP flag to Akpabio in Port Harcourt.Proverbially, certain people say that truth is bitter. The bitter truth may not include the feats attained by the present Akwa Ibom State government, which every individual take as sweet as honey to sing and dance over. Unfortunately, a few persons have claimed to be demigods and feel the secrets of funds mismanagement over the years has been made open by prudence utilisation of funds in the prosecutions of the airport project.They also feel that their purses have gone empty since state funds are not allocated to them monthly as booties of personal estates. These minute class have taken the path of feeding the public with lies about the ongoing free and compulsory education programme, the Tropicana Entertainment Centre for Tourism, the pipe-jacking drainage system, the electronic library and the urban beautification projects.The good side is that the more they attempt their antics, the more people have gone advanced than their tricks. Hence, by their dirty acts, it has become extremely too late for them to get close to the corridors of governance any longer in Akwa Ibom State.Speaking at a brief reception after receiving the flag as candidate of the PDP, Chief Akpabio reassured the electorate that his administration will not disappoint the confidence reposed in him and the tact team of the present and next regime. As a good beginning, even before the elections, Chief Akpabio said that he has taken the boldness of correcting the wrongs of the past in the nomination of a fresh running mate expected to be the deputy governor.In the first term, Chief Akpabio did not let the people down. The projects executed are not imaginary. They are not on the drawing boards. They are not in sketches, prototypes or in the thin air. The average Akwa Ibom State person, no matter the nature of disability can touch, feel, see, smell and experience the aroma of governance.Not being sentimental, the first phase of the independent power plant has been inaugurated, the university has commenced academic programmes, schools now have new structures, five brand new hospitals have been constructed,complimenting free health care services for the aged and children up to five years.In addition, a deep sea port is in the offing, a refinery, a fertilizer plant and related oil and gas subsidiaries are part of the Ibaka industrial city, whose foundation stone had since been laid. Sincerely, what any purposeful government can do for its people have been done by the present government in Akwa Ibom StateThe governor has restated the promise that empowerment programme and employment opportunities will be made available through the reactivation of ailing industries and the promotion of cottage industries peculiar to each of the local government areas. All persons associated with Akwa Ibom State, either as indigenes, residents, visitors and investors have no iota of doubt about the possibilities of the promises. After all, most of the things done by the administration were never in the election manifesto, yet, the governor saw the need for bringing those things just to lift Akwa Ibom State to the hub of economy in the Gulf of Guinea.For those of us who care about progress, development and upgrading of the standard of living, and are fighting wars against tribalism and ethnicity, we have risen to lay time, energy, interest and resources toward the continuation of this administration. There is no better alternative in the next four years. Join the winning team now to avoid regrets.Akpan, a journalist and public affairs analyst is based in Uyo
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