Tension in Odukpani/ Municipality Fed Constituency Over Battle for Reps Ticket As Anam Joins Race officially
Bassey BASSEY
There is palpable tension in Odukpani/Calabar federal constituency over who picks the House of Representatives ticket ahead of party primaries.
THE BEAGLE NEWS reports authouritatively that they are about four aspirants including Hon. Bassey Akiba, the incumbent Reps member, Dr. Effefiong Nta Eke, Dr. Emma Mbora and Apostle James Anam who have picked nomination forms to contest the arty primaries.
The trio of Anam, Eke and Mbora are from Municipality while Akiba is the only one from Odukpani. Municipality has held the position for 12 years before Akiba took over in 2023.
Stakeholders from Odukpani local government area insist that it is their turn and that they must do 12 years before it gets back to Municipality again, Municipality insist that Governor, Senate and Rep cannot be Odukpani.
Again, the incumbent governor, HE Prince Otu represented Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency for two terms in the House of Representatives and he hails from Odukpani.
Leaders of Calabar Municipality are also saying that Akiba has completed Odukpani's turn of three terms, therefore it's the turn of Municipality in the 2027 election.
Recall that the Mayor of Calabar Municipality, Apostle James Anam, officially joined the race for Municipality /Odukpani House of Representatives seat ahead of party primaries.
A news organisation based in Calabar, had reported exclusively that Apostle Anam is set to contest for the House of Representatives seat under the platform of the All Progressives Congress alongside other aspirants.
But the Mayor of Calabar had vehemently denied the media report in a statement issued online, describing the report as false, politically motivated and misleading as well as an attempt to drag his name into unnecessary political speculation capable of creating tension within the party.
In a statement made available to journalists, Anam stated unequivocally that he has neither purchased any nomination form for the federal constituency race nor declared interest in contesting for the seat.
According to him, his current priority remains the administration of Calabar Municipality and the consolidation of developmental projects and programmes within the council area.
“The publication is entirely false and does not represent my position in any way. I have not purchased any nomination form for the Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency race and I am not in the contest for the APC ticket,” he said.
Investigations by our reporter revealed that Anam is reportedly telling his supporters and some key stakeholders that he joined the race after consulting with the First family in the state who gave him a go ahead.
It was equally gathered that Anam has been reaching out to some top APC leaders at state, chapter and ward levels especially those from Odukpani and Municipality, claiming that he has been endorsed by powers-that-be.
THE BEAGLE NEWS
