Ex-federal lawmaker disassociates self from “Prayer for Gov. Emmanuel”

A former member of the House of Representatives, Eseme Eyiboh, has frowned at an attempt to link him with a church service said to have been organised in the state to pray for the political success of the state governor, Udom Emmanuel.

Mr. Eyiboh, a former spokesperson of the House of Representatives, said he attended a church service at a local branch of the Apostolic Church, Akpambiet, in Esit Eket Local Government Area, on Sunday, on the invitation of the Local Government Chairman, Iniobong Robson.

He said he was surprised to later see his name mentioned in a news story as being among the dignitaries who joined the youth to “seek God’s face for the continuous success of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration till 2023”.

Mr. Eyiboh is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC. He is from Esit Eket.

“I want to state that at no time was I invited by the youths or the SA to the Governor on Youth Matters to attend any thanksgiving or any event whatsoever,” Mr. Eyiboh said in a statement he issued on Monday. “To that effect, I couldn’t have been part of such occasion.

“If any other event took place at the same venue, it was outside my knowledge and purely coincidental. It is therefore preposterous to associate my presence at a church service in my community to any political prayer for the governor.

“Such story is misleading and twisted to suit whatever aim the writer conceived in his mind and had nothing to do with the reality.

“I reiterate that I did not attend any Youth Prayer Conference aimed at praying for any governor. I am aware that, the outcome of every electoral process is vote-based and majority driven. I urge members of the public to disregard the story,” he said.

Governor Emmanuel is interested in running for a second term in office in 2019. He has been receiving endorsement from different politicians and groups across the state.