By Tom Moses

UYO — Frontline governorship aspirant in Akwa-Ibom State, Bishop Samuel Akpan has denied the allegation that he has succumbed to pressure to jettison his 2015 governorship aspiration to support his kinsman and Governor Godswill Akpabio’s nominee, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.

Bishop Akpan, who spoke in Uyo, yesterday, through the Deputy International Coordinator of his campaign organisation, Mr. Nsikan Inyang, described the allegation, “as the wildest one in recent history that his principal could succumb to pressure by Governor Akpabio to support Udom Emmanuel,” the immediate past Secretary, SSG, to the Akwa-Ibom State Government.

“While not trying to join issues with that local tabloid that brewed or concocted that disparaging news report and other short-sighted individuals, it is still necessary to update us with the fact that my principal, Bishop Akpan was the first governorship aspirant in the entire Akwa-Ibom State to buy the 2015 governorship intent and nomination forms and is perhaps, the first to have returned them.

“Why then should somebody become so desperate to contemplate that Bishop Akpan who has invested so much in the politics of the state and, of course, Nigeria, could suddenly forgo his ambition and divine mandate?

“Why should anybody think that Bishop Akpan with very robust support structure across the 31 local government areas of the state and very enviable logistic security to prosecute his electioneering process could just wake up to step down for another individual who does not have measured divine favour as himself?” Inyang asked.

He called on all the supporters of Bishop Akpan to discard such falsehood.