I never fleeced Udom before giving him my support in 2019 guber – Onofiok Luke
For the first time after the 2019 election, the Member Representing Etinan Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke has publicly responded to the rumour that he ripped-off Mr. Udom Emmanuel in the process of helping the governor to win his second term election.
Barr. Luke dispelled this rumour while briefing journalists during a Consultative Visit to the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists on Monday (NUJ) at the NUJ Press Centre.
“I saw an article in ThisDay (Newspaper) written by one of our brothers making allusion to how so much (money) Onofiok Luke fleeced the governor before he gave his support for the governor’s election in 2019. I stand here to challenge anybody who gave me money to go publicly and mention how much he gave me before I could pledge my support to fight that battle of 2019.
“I was not financially induced. I was not paid to give that support. I gave that support out of conviction. And I’m proud and I can say it. Given the opportunity, I would give that support again and again”, Luke said.
TheMail Newspaper reports that there have been insinuations that Onofiok who was the Chairman of the Media/Publicity Sub-Committee of the Divine Mandate (the Governor’s campaign organization) in 2019 swindled Governor Emmanuel in the course of the election. The rumour which gathered steam for much of 2019 and 2020 in government and media circles alluded that after the 2019 election, one of the reasons which made Udom reportedly fall out with the former Speaker was because he fleeced the governor in exchange for his support.
In the run up to the 2019 election, Onofiok Luke had in different fora stated that he was offered huge sum of money (running into billions of Naira) by some elements in the All Progressives Congress to ditch the governor and the PDP and support the APC which is the ruling party at the centre.
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, Onofiok Luke is running for the much coveted seat of governor. But the Governor had on January 30, 2022 chosen Pastor Umo Eno as his preferred for the office.
Onofiok says he has been “incubated in the leadership womb of the state” for the past fifteen years, hence he is ready for the task ahead if the people give him the mandate to lead them from May 29, 2023.