The governorship primary election held by the Labour Party in Akwa Ibom State has set the stage for another round of crisis in the opposition party.
At the end of the exercise held on May 30, 2026, two gubernatorial candidates, Emmanuel Ben and Micheal Bush emerged from different venues.
The election that saw the emergence of Emmanuel Ben was conducted at Port Harcourt Street, off Abak road, under the supervision of supposed INEC officials led by one Mrs Vivian Oladipo.
State Party chairman, Comrade Lincoln Charles told journalists that Mr Ben was the only authentic governorship candidate of Labour Party in the state as he was the only person that purchased the party’s form and was cleared by the National body, describing the candidature of any other person as illegitimate.
“I understand that there are imposters which INEC does not recognise. The governorship candidate of this Party is Emmanuel Friday Ben who has just emerged from the just-concluded primaries.
So, anyone who’s not here is not known by INEC or Labour Party in Akwa Ibom State”, he said.
However, in a swift contrast, the electoral committee chairman of Senator Nenadi Usman’s led Labour Party, Dr Kingsley Okundaye dismissed the election of Emmanuel Ben as the party’s gubernatorial candidate in Akwa Ibom State, upholding that of Mr. Micheal Bush which was conducted at the party secretariat same day, Saturday.
He said Ben may not even appear on the ballot as he was not cleared by the national screening committee in the first place.
This came amid claims by some analysts that Ben was sponsored by the ruling party in the State to destabilize the opposition party.
Speaking on telephone with the election committee chairman, Okundaye about the legitimacy of Micheal Bush’s primary election in the state, he said the authenticity of the process hinged on the judgment of the Supreme Court that sacked Abure, and all his state exco and affirmed Nenadi Usman as the legitimate National chairman of Labour Party.
“There was only one legitimate and authentic state primary which I chaired at the instance of the national chairman, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman.
To present candidates for the forthcoming election is the national chairman of the Labour Party as known by law and as recognized by INEC,” he said.
Meanwhile, many other opposition parties in Akwa Ibom State may also suffer a new wave of wrangling as primary elections draw to an end.
For instance, in the Action Democratic Congress, ADC, Barrister Mfon Peter, a gubernatorial aspirant, was alleged to have been sponsored by the ruling party to destabilize the opposition party.
However, his contender, Senator John Akpanudoedehe later defeated him at the primary election to emerge the party’s governorship candidate.
Peter has since dismissed the insinuations during a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, secretariat, insisting that he was eminently qualified financially, intellectually and academically to run his campaigns and eventually be the governor of the state.
He rejected the outcome of the election, alleging fraudulent activities and disenfranchisement of his supporters.
He said he had already filed a petition before the party’s governorship election appeal committee, while calling on the leadership of ADC to nullify the exercise and order a fresh primary.
A House of Representatives candidate under APM for Abak, Etim Ekpo, Ika Federal Constituency, Dr Tom Fredfish is among those who have raised the alarm over the level of alleged infiltration of opposition political parties by officials of Akwa State Government, urging them to allow democracy to thrive.
He tasked the judiciary to remain firm, dispensing justice without fear or intimidation even as he called on genuine candidates not to be deterred as the people would have the final say.
‘’Remain focused, the people are the ones that have the say but in a situation where the people are being deprived of alternatives, it’s very dangerous for democracy. With time, the fake ones will fade away,’’ he stated.
