Akwa Ibom state Governor Emmanuel Udom has reportedly threatened to resign as chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) over lack of funds.
Sources said the governor has also refused to fund the presidential election, but has rather asked all governors to focus on their states.
A government house source revealed exclusively to Daily Sun that Udom confided in some aides in his inner circle that he was exasperated with the inability of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to release funds for campaign in the state.
The source said despite the fact that the PDP is the ruling party in the state, the presidential candidate is not a favourite among residents, hence, the need for his campaign to commence in earnest.
“At the moment, our governor has said he would not be spending a dime of the state’s funds on the presidential campaign because we don’t even have more than enough resources for our national and state Assemblies campaigns. He has even said he would rather resign than appear incompetent. He wants to campaign for Atiku but his hands are tied because of lack of funds.
“At the moment, we are waiting for the candidate to release funds so that the party can start campaigning for him here but if he doesn’t do so, then we would just focus on our National Assembly and state candidates. It is not that the governor does not support him but the fact remains that we are our governorship campaign is our priority at the moment.
“If you go to the streets of Akwa Ibom and talk to people, you would see that Atiku is not popular among the top presidential contenders. Also, the fact that most of the billboards you see in Uyo are either for our national assembly and state candidates and the presidential candidates of other parties gives you an understanding of what is at stake.
“For instance, the supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party have sponsoring billboards and pasting posters of him all over the city but that of Atiku are few because funds haven’t been released,” the source said.
However, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ini Ememobong, said he was not aware of any such threat.
“The Governor is a gentleman and doesn’t issue threats, he discusses. He is a natural peace builder wherever he finds himself, so we know he is pursuing peace and reconciliation to help the party win’, he said.
