The attack on Hon. Aniekan Bassey, Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly at Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, has been criticized by two groups: The Mandate Eye and the Akwa Ibom Integrity Alliance.
Before the speaker was attacked by youths, Bassey and Godwin Ekpo, the Assembly member representing Ibiono Ibom, had gone to consult stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on his senatorial ambition.
According to reports, supporters of a major governorship candidate in the area demanded that the speaker remove his face cap, which bore the symbol of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s proposed successor, Pastor Umo Eno, before speaking to them.
Bassey declined to remove the cap, arguing that he was not there to campaign for Eno, but rather to speak with him about his plans to run for Senate in 2023. After the youths insisted that he could not address them while wearing the headgear, he was forced to depart.
In a joint news conference held over the weekend by the parties’ leaders, Uwemedimo Umana, Stephen Abia, and Faith Mbowo, the groups condemned the occurrence as sacrilegious on the office of the Speaker, who is the state’s number three citizen.
Barrister Abia, the chairman of the Akwa Ibom Integrity Alliance, expressed disappointment that certain people may be a nuisance and harass politicians who do not share their views in the state.
“We are truly saddened that in the twenty-first century, a group of rational beings can form a nuisance and go around harassing and abusing innocent people who do not share their political ideas.”
“It’s even worse that they could demand that Hon. Aniekan Bassey, the State’s third most powerful citizen, remove his cap because it bore the imprimatur of his chosen Governorship candidate, Pastor Umo Eno, rather than their claimed principal, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan.”
“Are these agitators telling us that if Aniekan Bassey had worn a pair of trousers or shirt with the Umo Eno inscription on it, they would have stripped him naked before allowing him to consult Ibiono Ibom delegates?” he wondered.
While commending the speaker for his peaceful disposition by leaving the scene immediately, Abia called on security agencies in the state to take further steps by ensuring that all those fingered in the act are brought to book immediately.
Also reacting, the Director of Communications, The Mandate Eye, Dr Uwemedimoh Umanah said the action of the youths was the height of disrespect to the office of the speaker and an infringement on his human rights.
According to him, “This represented a sacrilege and the height of disrespect to the office of the No 3 Citizen of the state. Let us at this critical juncture salute Mr Speaker for displaying such unparalleled leadership and statesmanship through actions that circumvented violence and hostilities in the state. That Mr Speaker did not allow the appurtenances and weight of his office to influence him typifies altruistic leadership.
“That dastardly act infringed on the fundamental right of association and speech of the Speaker, as enshrined in Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, inter alia: ‘Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests.’
“Therefore undermining Mr Aniekan Bassey’s fundamental rights is antithetical to democratic culture and the process of democratic consolidation in the state.”
Speaking on the agitation for micro-zoning the governorship to Itu/Ibiono Federal Constituency, the groups stressed that it was not the sole preserve of Ibiono Ibom, since there has never been micro- zoning for the governorship position in the state saying, “the Governorship position is therefore open to everyone in all the Local Government Areas in Uyo Senatorial District of Akwa Ibom State.”
“Suffice it to say that, if the zoning of the governorship were done on the basis of Local Government Areas or micro- zoning, it would take about 36 years within Uyo alone, before it gets to the next Senatorial District. It is therefore morally reprehensible, unthoughtful, illogical and insensitive for any person or group to feel entitled to the seat of Governor and subject it to personal considerations- against the interest of the whole state,” they said.
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