It has been revealed that fear of EFCC and other anti-graft agencies by some alleged corrupt members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom state led to their recent defection to the All Progressives Congress.
Most of the defectors such as Arc Otu Ita Toyo, Senator Alloy Etok, and some former local government council chairmen publicly cross carpeted to the APC, stirring some questions on the rationale for such action.
Global Pilot learnt that, as a former secretary to state government, Mr Umana had brought out several startling revelations against the former PDP top notchers and threatened to drag them to the anti-graft bodies.
Arc Toyo is said to have been involved in several gross abuse of funds and illegal employment rackets during his tenure as chairman of the Local Government Service Commission. These include financial recklessness and other anomalies in the recruitment of civil servants into government employ.
Senator Alloy Etok who recently lost his bid to chair the Akwa Ibom state football association, has been scared that the multi billion naira pension scandal that rocked his senate committee probe panel two years ago, might be revisted by the Buhari government.
It was gathered that the APC candidate Umana Umana had accosted him, and threaten to report his escapade in the controversial pension fraud to the president for prompt action, forcing the Ikono born two-term senator to jump ship and support Umana under duress.
On his part, Aniekan Akpan is already facing probe from the Chairman of Eket local government following the disappearance without trace of several billions of naira from the excess crude allocation to the area during his tenure between 2011 and 2015.
An inside source, says following indications that the Supreme Court judgement will likely favour Governor Udom Emmanuel, some former chairmen and ex-commissioners who were forced to part with lump sums had since developed raised blood pressures.
Two former chairmen of Itu and Uyo local government as revealed by close aides, had been extorted to the sum of N10m each as registration in the project. “As I am talking to you now, my boss is thinking of how to make amends and return to PDP…at the moment he is even so ashamed to step outside,” an aide to one of the former chairman revealed.
It is not however clear as to what positions where promised the respective former PDP members that made them to subject themselves to such blackmail and political suicide, but Paul Ekpo the state PDP chairman refused to confide with our reporter on whether the prodigal sons will be accepted back to the party should they make an imminent u-turn.
“The PDP is a very discipline party and does not give room for truancy and waywardness,” he said.
Source: Global Pilot Newspaper
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