US embassy cable - 05LAGOS1153

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