The former governor of the state of Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel, has said that he is not aware that the governor of the state of Oyo, Seyi Makinde, is postulated for the president’s office in 2027.
He made this statement while presenting questions from journalists who met him in an event in Abuja.
When asked if he will support Seyi Makinde’s ambition for the presidency, he replied: “Governor Makinde is my friend, a former colleague and one of the strong leaders of the PDP, to which I belong. I can say about my honor that Seyi has never told me that he is postulated for president, and if we are as close as we are and that he has not told me, I suspect me, I have told me that people have not told me. What has not gone to people, only what has only left me for people, it is only a means that has only use it, it is only a medium that is a selal, only what it has not told me, it is only what has not told me that the seal is a sellal.
“It is normal for anyone who wants to compete for any political position undertakes consultations to obtain the support of the people, but my friend Seyi has not contacted me or anyone who knows, on that matter.”
The response of the former governor of Akwa Ibom was an attempt to clarify his position on generalized speculation about the presidential ambitions of his colleague.
Speaking more, Emmanuel added: “What I know and I am sure that he (Seyi) is a true man of the party, who, like many of us in the PDP, is totally committed to the resuscitation of the party that offered us a platform for political recognition and service to our people. We cannot simply leave the party; it is morally incorrect.
“There will always be a ruling party and opposition parties, and we must absorb the spirit of political tolerance that helps consolidate democracy in the nations where it is practiced, which Nigeria is one.”
Emmanuel’s comments arrive at a time when many have questioned their relative silence in the political arena since he left office in 2023.
When addressing this, when asked why he has been silent and has not made any political statement or position, Emmanuel replied: “I had promised in the twilight of my administration that when I leave the position, I will leave the stage for my successor and I retire to my life and private commitments, and that is exactly what I have done. The levels, especially the governors who ask for my opinion on various matters related to the public government.
These denials and clarifications of Emmanuel come in the context of the recent wild political speculation and the virulent sponsored propaganda addressed both to the former Governor Udom Emmanuel and Governor Seyi Makinde on the rumored political ambition of the latter and the support of the first.
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