The allegations against the Honourable Member representing Obudu, Bekwarra, and Obanliku Federal Constituency are neither novel nor tangential.
By Akuku Achilles Ugbani
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Published on August 26, 2026
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2 min read
Ordinarily, I would have maintained a studied silence on the burgeoning financial allegations against Hon. Peter Akpanke. However, to do so at this juncture would constitute an egregious lacuna on my part as a stakeholder in the APC project in Cross River North.
The allegations against the Honourable Member representing Obudu, Bekwarra, and Obanliku Federal Constituency are neither novel nor tangential. Reports of financial impropriety have trailed him since his sojourn at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. In recent times, these have metastasized into accusations of contract racketeering and the alleged monetization of job opportunities within the National Assembly.
However, we must interrogate the political genealogy of this trajectory. Hon. Akpanke’s ascension to the National Assembly was not accidental. It was the direct product of the political calculus and imprimatur of Distinguished Sen. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, who, despite being conversant with the subject’s antecedents, deployed his goodwill and political capital to midwife his emergence.
Therefore, if we are to subject Hon. Akpanke to public opprobrium for alleged misdemeanors, then equity demands that Sen. Jarigbe also be made to answer for his role as the principal architect and political mentor.
Sen. Jarigbe birthed a political protégé but appears to have failed in providing the requisite tutelage for navigating the treacherous terrain of the National Assembly. Leadership is not innate; it is learned. Hon. Akpanke deserves a window to recalibrate and be properly groomed.
Crucially, with the 2027 general elections looming, we must exercise circumspection. The opposition is already salivating, waiting to weaponize the Akpanke issue to cause electoral hemorrhage for the APC in our zone.
I therefore make a humble but urgent plea: in the overriding interest of party cohesion and electoral victory, let us sheath our swords for now. Hon. Akpanke should not be used as a window to orchestrate political chaos against the APC.
The time for public castigation is over. The time for strategic management has come.
CAVEAT: Views expressed in this opinion are those of the author and not of Daily Lamp and or its staff.
