pThe Action Congress
of Nigeria (ACN) is facing confusion after its request to use the Uyo
Township Stadium for its rally and campaign flag-off venue in Akwa Ibom
State was denied. The state chapter chairman of ACN, Aniekan Willie
Akpan, yesterday raised doubts about the successful staging of the
party’s presidential rally in the state. The leadership of the party
explained that there were plans by the People’s Democratic Party led by
state governor Godswill Akpabio to scuttle the rally by denying the ACN
the use of the stadium.
Due process
Alluding to a
likely tension in the state if the party was not allowed to host its
presidential candidate, Nuhu Ribadu; former Lagos State governor, Bola
Tinubu; the national chairman of the party, Bisi Akande billed to lead
the campaign team to Uyo, Mr. Akpan said they would not be deterred by
the antics of the PDP to subdue them.
Other ACN members
scheduled to flag off the campaigns include governors Babatunde Fashola
of Lagos State, Adams Oshiomole of Edo, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, and
Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State.
According to Thomas
Akpan, chairman, media/publicity sub-committee of Akpan Udoedehe’s
Governorship Campaign Organization, the party’s presidential rally has
been threatened by the “highhandedness” of the state government.
Mr. Akpan said the
government has denied the ACN the use of the stadium even though the
party had duly applied to use the stadium for the event through the
Ministry of Youth and Sports.
“The PDP government
in the state, as in its typical character, has denied our party the use
of the stadium which is a public facility constructed and run by
taxpayers’ money. We followed due process in applying for the use of
that facility through the State Ministry of Youths and Sports.
“It smacks of
political intolerance on the part of the PDP government because as you
know the PDP used the stadium yesterday (Monday) for the presidential
rally so I see no reason why we shouldn’t use it. After all, the
stadium is a public facility and everybody or group is entitled to use
it.”
However, in a swift
reaction, the Akwa Ibom State government denied the allegation that it
was planning to frustrate the planned rally. Saying that the ACN was
free to use the stadium since it was a public facility, the
Commissioner for Information and Social Re-Orientation, Aniekan Umanah,
stated that the accusation as unfounded.
Mr. Umanah described it as “unfounded” and “alarmist” in nature,
noting that the false alarm was symptomatic of a “failed party”.
