Re-election Seeking Gov Udom Disturbed As Talks Akpabio Seeking Replacement With Speaker Luke Gain Ground

The profile of Speaker of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke is astronomically on the rise.

And this is thanks to strong backing from former governor Godswill Akapbio.

In the wake of plenty talks of grooming the Speaker as an alternative to re-election seeking Governor Udom Emmanuel, the Senate Minority on Sunday openly declared “Onofiok Luke is my son and I’m proud of him”.

Information monitored on news platform premiumtimesng.com revealed that the high-value endorsement came to be at the 40th birthday thanksgiving of the Speaker at Full Life Christian Centre Uyo.

The news platform also stated in part “At the church, the senator laid his hand on the speaker’s head and prayed for him. He said since he left office as governor, Mr. Luke stands out as one person who has continued to publicly acknowledge and appreciate him as his benefactor”.

This development which comes at a time Senator Akpabio is reportedly enmeshed in a frosty relationship with his successor has further given wings to talks Luke is a possible replacement for the re-election seeking Governor Udom.

Akpabio is said to have helped Udom secure office as his successor – but a battle for influence and power reportedly soured their relationship.

The conflict reportedly became so intense at a point that the state chapter of their party – People’s Democratic Party – became polarized.

As re-election nears, a truce was brokered between the two parties in the bid to secure the general political fortune.

But if talks filtering out is anything to go by, it appears the peace is just “cosmetic” after all.

The talks making the round have it that Akpabio is quietly working to make a shock switch of Udom with Luke as party gubernatorial candidate in the upcoming election.

Though with its own game plan to protect political interest, sources disclosed the camp of re-election seeking Governor Udom is disturbed by the intensity of the talks journeying about town.