Hopes dashed by the Supreme Court ruling of February 3rd;
their chief benefactor, Mr Umana Umana reportedly denied compensating
appointment at the Federal level; high ranking members defecting to the PDP -
it has not been the best of times for the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Akwa
Ibom State. To worsen their dilemma, Mr. Victor Ini Okon of Oron Federal
Constituency, perhaps their most influential candidate in the approaching
Elections rerun, has today announced his withdrawal from the race – less than
24 hours to the polls.
Mr. Victor, who is a much loved past chairman of Oron Local
Government Area, made the announcement in a Press Conference held in Uyo, 4pm
on Friday citing “very personal reasons” as grounds for his decision.
And not only has he withdrawn from the elections, he has
also resigned from the party.
“After due consultation with my family, and immediate constituency,
I have decided to withdraw from the re-run election fixed for tomorrow March 12th,
2016 for very personal reasons. I have also already resigned from the All
Peoples Congress (APC).”
It will be recalled that Hon Okon had ran for a seat in the House
of Representatives on the platform of APC in the April 11, 2015 elections, and
lost to the incumbent Hon Effion Okon Bassey. He then contested his defeat at
the Elections tribunal, securing a favourable verdict at the Appeal Court which
called for a rerun.
The elections will hold as scheduled, but the APC cannot field
a replacement candidate this close to the elections, resulting in a huge loss –
an enormous one given the recently much debated significance of the area to the
party’s highest leadership. Meanwhile, it has been revealed to our correspondent
that Mr. Victor Okon has chosen to turn off his phones to ward off incessant
calls from frantic members of the APC’s leadership in the State.
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