2027 election already concluded, 26 assembly tickets in my pocket

The Speaker of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Udeme Otong, has sparked public outrage by publicly declaring that the outcome of the 2027 legislative elections has already been decided, claiming that he has the power to determine who, within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, will be elected into the assembly.

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In a viral video circulating widely on Facebook, Mr Otong was seen boasting that no one would become a member of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly without his approval.

The speaker made the remarks during a courtesy visit by the Ibom Grassroots Development Initiative, a political group, to his country home in Abak Itenge, to mark his 2025 birthday.

“All the tickets are already in my pocket,” Mr Otong said in the video. He spoke in his Annang dialect.

“All the 26 House of Assembly tickets are already in my pocket. I single-handedly negotiated for them, no one else. No one else did. I will personally choose who becomes a House of Assembly member and hand the ticket to the person from my pocket,” he said.

Akwa Ibom State has 26 lawmakers in the state assembly. All were members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until June, when 24 of them defected along with Governor Umo Eno to the APC.

Mr Eno had said he consulted widely, including with the legislature, before leaving the PDP.

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There were speculations that the lawmakers may have been promised automatic return tickets for the 2027 general election in exchange for joining the governor in the APC.

Mr Otong, who represents Abak State Constituency, is serving a second term in the assembly.

In the video, he said, “No one will emerge without my approval,” adding that the tickets would be given to individuals with whom the governor would be comfortable working with.

It remains unclear whether Mr Eno or the APC made such concessions to the speaker — a move that would effectively render party primaries meaningless.

Both the APC chairperson in the state, Stephen Ntukekpo, and the party’s spokesperson, Otoabasi Udo, did not respond to calls seeking their comments.

Group condemns speaker’s remarks

A group called the APC Media Network, affiliated with the APC in Akwa Ibom, has issued a response to the speaker’s comments, describing them as anti-democratic, provocative, and misleading.

The group’s director, Iniobong John, said, in the statement, that Mr Otong’s remarks wrongly suggested that party candidacies are subject to personal control rather than due process.

The group stated that the speaker lacks constitutional or moral authority to determine the APC nominations, noting that such powers reside exclusively with the party’s recognised organs, in line with its constitution and guidelines.

“For avoidance of doubt, the speaker has no constitutional or moral authority to determine the APC candidacies or to custody party ticket,” the statement stated.

The group recalled that long-standing members established the APC in Akwa Ibom State before Mr Otong’s defection. It warned that his comments risk marginalising loyal party stakeholders and undermining internal democracy.

The group called on the speaker to retract the statement and issue a public apology to the APC members, urging him to place the party’s collective interests above personal ambition.

It also asked the national leadership of the APC to clearly reaffirm that the party’s 2027 candidates will emerge through transparent and competitive processes, insisting that APC tickets belong to the party, not to any individual.

‘My third term is guaranteed’

Mr Otong also spoke confidently about his political future, insisting that challenges in the next polls would not alter the outcome. He told the gathering that the 2027 election had already been concluded in his favour.

Using the biblical story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea as an analogy, he urged his supporters not to be afraid, saying he had been assured of a return as a speaker.

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“Don’t be afraid. Don’t behave like the Israelites, who were afraid of the sea after they were delivered from the Egyptians. God made a way where there was none. I was delivered in the first and second terms.

“I was not interested in the third term, but the person who asked me to aspire for the third term said he wants to continue working with me (the speaker),” he said, without disclosing the identity of the person.

Mr Otong did not respond to calls and a text message seeking his comment.