AKWA IBOM DEPUTY GOVERNOR IMPEACHED, REINSTATED,

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 001153

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2015
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KDEM NI
SUBJECT: AKWA IBOM DEPUTY GOVERNOR IMPEACHED, REINSTATED,
RESIGNED, REPLACED


Classified By: Acting Consul General William M. Howe for Reasons 1.4 (B
& D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The recent impeachment and subsequent
save-face "resignation" of Akwa Ibom State Deputy Governor,
Chris Ekpenyong, highlighted ever-present rivalries and rifts
within the ruling People,s Democratic Party (PDP). The Akwa
Ibom State House of Assembly impeached the Deputy Governor
for "gross misconduct and corruption." The PDP national
leadership criticized the impeachment and ordered an
investigation. The House agreed to reverse its sanction but
insisted the Deputy Governor resign. Michael Udofi has been
appointed in Ekpenyong,s stead. Akwa Ibom state governor,
Victor Attah, is an Atiku partisan, and the move to oust
Ekpenyong, an Obasanjo loyalist and likely gubernatorial
candidate, is part of the internal PDP power-jockeying as
candidates and constituencies begin to realign for the 2007
elections. End Summary.


2. (U) On June 23, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly
impeached the state deputy governor, Chris Ekpenyong on three
major charges. They alleged that Ekpenyong used government
funds to purchase a house in Houston and failed to disclose
this as required by law. The Deputy Governor does not deny
family ownership of the house but maintains he did not/not
use government funds for its purchase. Critics question how
the deputy afforded the house, which is rumored to be worth
more than $3 million, and why he purchased it in the name of
his 12-year-old son. Ekpenyong was also accused of
physically assaulting a woman who annoyed him with her
requests for money. Finally, the House accused Ekpenyong of
using his position as Chairman of the Finance and General
Purposes Committee to obtain unfair advantage in government
contract bids submitted by his own company.


3. (U) Ekpenyong refused to appear before an investigating
panel set up by the House. He filed a suit in court
challenging the impeachment and accused Governor Victor Attah
of initiating the impeachment process to frustrate his bid to
become the next governor. Ekpenyong alleged the governor
bribed the legislators to impeach him. Idongesit Uduokpo, a
former state commissioner and close associate of Ekpenyong,
also linked the impeachment to the succession battle in 2007.
He told journalists that Governor Attah masterminded the
impeachment to weaken opposition and pave the way for his
son-in-law to succeed him in 2007.


4. (SBU) Dr. Ebebe Ukpong, a senior advisor to Governor
Attah, however, denied that Ekpenyong,s impeachment was
politically motivated. He told PolSpec that Ekpenyong was
impeached because of the serious allegations leveled against
him by the House of Assembly. He said no responsible
legislature could ignore such gross abuse of office by a
high-ranking government official.


5. (U) The PDP,s National Executive Council condemned the
impeachment process for failing to follow due process. Since
both the executive and legislative branches of Akwa Ibom
state government are controlled by the PDP, the party
reserved the right to ensure that its members are subject to
fair hearings and due process. The PDP then set up a
committee to investigate the impeachment and make
recommendations.


6. (U) Striking a compromise with the PDP national leadership
on July 5, the House of Assembly re-instated Ekpenyong as
deputy governor with the understanding he would resign from
office. Michael Udofia, a prominent PDP chieftain, has since
been appointed the new deputy governor.


7. (C) COMMENT: The intervention of the largely pro-Obasanjo
PDP national executive in the Akwa Ibom incident is widely
seen as designed to give Ekpenyong, an Obasanjo loyalist, a
graceful exit. Attah, a well-known associate of Vice
President Atiku Abubakar, is said to have been attempting to
punish Ekpenyong for disloyalty.


8. (C) Intraparty disputes are more the rule than the
exception in Nigeria. For example, another dispute currently
rages within the All Progressive Grand Alliance party (APGA),
whose main constituency lies in the divisive Southern
regional zones. Chief Chekwas Okorie and Chief Mike Umeh
both claim rights to the chairmanship of the party. A
powerful PDP governor from the Niger Delta region told us
some months ago that the battle for the Presidency will be
fought not on election day but inside the party caucuses. He
(perhaps somewhat overoptimistically) likened the PDP to
South Africa's ANC, saying it is given that PDP will score
victory in 2007, the only questions are who will be the
party's standard bearers. As the electoral season heats up,
we can expect more of these "family squabbles." END COMMENT.
HOWE