Itoro Bassey
Political observers in Akwa Ibom State may have found the controversial statement attributed to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Udeme Otong, concerning the 2027 assembly elections to be validated, as 22 out of 26 lawmakers have reportedly secured their return tickets under the APC platform.
This development follows Speaker Otong’s earlier declaration that he had all the House of Assembly tickets in his pocket, a statement that sparked public outrage and raised questions about the integrity of the electoral process in the state.
In a viral video that circulated widely on Facebook in December 2025, the Speaker claimed that no one would become a member of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly without his approval.
“All the 26 House of Assembly tickets are already in my pocket. I single-handedly negotiated for them, no one else did”, he stated during a courtesy visit by a political group, Ibom Grassroots Development Initiative, to his country home in Abak Itenge, to mark his 2025 birthday.
The political arena in Akwa Ibom State shifted dramatically on June 6, 2025 when 24 members of the house of assembly, including the state governor, Pastor Umo Eno, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
During the heated debate, speculation arose that the lawmakers may have been promised automatic return tickets for the 2027 general election in exchange for joining the governor in the APC.
At the time, Clement Jimbo, the member representing the Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, declared that he would not support Otong’s bid for a third term, while also questioning the justification for a planned extension of the speaker’s tenure.
But on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, 22 lawmakers won the primary elections in their respective constituencies, including Speaker Udeme Otong, who represents Abak state constituency; Rt. Hon. Otobong Bob (Nsit Ubium state constituency), and Rt. Hon. Asuquo Nana Udo, from Ikono state constituency.
Otong, Bob, and Asuquo Udo are seeking a third term in the state legislature.
