Aniekan Umanah in a fresh mess

• Provokes Uwem Udoma against Akpabio’s 2015 senate bid

• We are waiting to shock him to declare for House of Reps – Stakeholders

Aniekan Umanah

Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah’s inability to keep his tongue sealed on certain information has thrown him into a deep mess and Governor Godswill Akpabio may be the one to pay for it with his 2015 senate ambition.

Umanah who is one of Governor Akpabio’s longest serving Commissioners had stepped on the toes of the former Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Uwem Udoma and the Ex-Deputy Speaker was quoted to have told Abak Elders and stakeholders including the youths and women that he is ready to do everything to ensure that Akpabio’s 2015 senate ambition is botched due to what he described as Aniekan Umanah’s acts of going about blackmailing him.

Uwem Udoma is accusing the State Commissioner for Information of going about town, blackmailing him and saying that Governor Akpabio has settled him (Udoma).

Checks revealed that with the insistence of the Ex-Deputy Speaker that the senate seat for Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District be occupied by Abak 5 division, Governor Akpabio had called Udoma and had asked the Abak political chieftain not to overheat the polity by kicking against his (Akpabio’s) ambition. The Governor, close sources said had told Uwem Udoma that he is a part of the government and as such should rather join hands with him to get the victory at the end of the day.

In his response, our source said, Uwem Udoma had responded on the contrary telling Governor Akpabio that he is not a part of the government, Udoma is said to have complained to Akpabio that the administration is owing him so much money from the works and contracts he has done for them so far. In order to please Uwem Udoma and get his backing, a top source maintained on condition of strict anonymity that the Governor had caused Udoma’s account to be credited with over one billion naira to make up for the money owed the Abak political chieftain.

When the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Aniekan Umanah got wind of this information, a reliable source from Abak told our reporter that the commissioner had purposely attempted to set up the Elders against the Ex-deputy Speaker by spreading information to some key political players in Abak 5 region that the Governor had settled Uwem Udoma. Aniekan Umanah is said to have done this in order to get an edge over Uwem Udoma as the information boss is also eyeing the 2015 House of Representatives position

An embarrassed Uwem Udoma upon being confronted by some stakeholders from the region on his alleged settlement by Akpabio was short of taking up issues with the Information boss but after careful thoughts, had vowed to continue to fight Akpabio’s senate bid claiming that the Information Commissioner provoked him into the continuous fight.

Before the Aniekan Umanah episode, Uwem Udoma is said to have assured the Governor of his support but with Aniekan Umanah choosing to broadcast Uwem Udoma’s financial pay, the Ex-deputy Speaker who is equally eyeing the House of Representatives seat for Abak/Ika/Etim Ekpo Federal Constituency with Aniekan Umanah in contention too has vowed to stop not only Akpabio’s senate bid but Aniekan Umanah’s House of Representatives ambition.

Sources close to Uwem Udoma while interacting with our reporter last Friday in Ikot Ekpene during a function hinted that the action of Aniekan Umanah in going about to broadcast the alleged settlement of Uwem Udoma is doing the Ex-Assemblyman more harm than good as the man (Uwem Udoma) will be thrown up for attack. They however cautioned Umanah to be careful with the things he says.