Several APC chieftains in Akwa Ibom have come out in defence of Mr Umana.
Despite Umana Umana repudiating a fake letter which surfaced on Facebook recently, some people in Akwa Ibom State have latched on to it to unjustly attack the former minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
The fake letter, addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, sought to portray Mr Umana as an "ethnic champion" and a promoter of division within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom, while it (the letter) appeared as though it was campaigning for the former minister to be included in President Bola Tinubu's yet-to-be-announced cabinet.
The letter bears the name of a faceless group, Akwa Ibom APC Renaissance, as its author.
It said that Mr Umana should be appointed a minister just because he is an Ibibio, the major ethnic nationality in Akwa Ibom.
Umana reacts
"We want to make it crystal clear that Mr Umana has nothing to do with this letter, and that the group is not acting at the behest of the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs," Iboro Otongaran, a spokesperson to Mr Umana, said in a statement on Friday.
"Contrary to the impression that the letter and those behind it want to create, Mr Umana is not an ethnic champion.
"In all the roles he has had the privilege to play at the state and national levels Umana has always acted in the national interest, prioritising competence, fairness and equity above other considerations. And over the years, Umana has demonstrated his loyalty to the APC and has been unstinting in his efforts to build and defend the unity of the party at both the state and national levels," the statement added.
Mr Umana's statement did not, however, stop the APC in Akwa Ibom from attacking him.
The APC spokesperson in the state, OtoAbasi Udo, said in a statement on Friday that Mr Umana should not be appointed a minister.
Mr Udo, without proof, said that Mr Umana did not work for President Tinubu's victory in the presidential election in Akwa Ibom, an allegation that has been rehashed by some people within the APC.
"Did he win his ward for APC? Did he win his local government, Nsit Ubium, for APC? Did he win his federal constituency, for APC? Did he win his senatorial district, Uyo, for APC? Did he win his state, Akwa Ibom, for APC?" Mr Udo, a lawyer, said in the statement.
Mr Umana won his polling unit in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, for Mr Tinubu and the APC in the last general elections.
Before the elections, Mr Umana had reportedly provided financial support to the APC in the state, including the party's governorship candidate, Mr Udofia, and several of the party's candidates for the House of Assembly elections, at least six people who are knowledgeable about this told PREMIUM TIMES.
He was coordinating Mr Tinubu's presidential campaign rally in Uyo.
The Peoples Democratic Party has, however, remained the dominant party in Akwa Ibom since the return of democratic governance in Nigeria in 1999.PREMIUM TIMES, Monday, asked the APC spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, Mr Udo, if he was aware that Mr Umana had distanced himself from the Akwa Ibom APC Renaissance and its letter.
"Yes, I am aware. But we had published our reaction before they (Umana) came out with their statement," he responded.
Mr Udo said "we stand by our statement," despite Mr Umana distancing himself from the Akwa Ibom APC Renaissance.
He said the Chairperson of the APC in Akwa Ibom, Stephen Ntukekpo, had authorised the issuance of the statement.
Mr Ntukekpo did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comment from him.
The fake letter
The fake letter was authored and pushed into social media with the main intention to attack Mr Umana's credibility before President Tinubu and the APC national leadership because of the race for ministerial appointments, investigation by PREMIUM TIMES revealed.
Apart from Mr Umana, a former presidential aide, Ita Enang, the 2023 APC governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom, Akan Udofia, and a former commissioner in the state, Victor Atai, are among those in the state reportedly interested in becoming Mr Tinubu's minister.
President Tinubu has till Friday, 28 July, to constitute his cabinet, going by Nigeria's constitution.
The letter that the Akwa Ibom APC and a few others have relied upon to attack Mr Umana had a fake address, Plot 87, D-Line, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo.
The owners of the property have issued a statement, saying that it "is an expanse of gated bungalow that does not accommodate any offices, be it private or commercial".
The names on the letter appeared to be non-existent, according to findings by this newspaper.
PREMIUM TIMES used some fact-checking tools - Google Reverse Image and Tin Eye Reverse Search - to search for the origin of the letter. The search led our reporters to Samuel Mbosoh, a chieftain of the APC in Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
Mr Mbosoh had posted the letter on his Facebook page on 21 July, at 12:44 p.m.
"I think it is fake," he said of the letter when our reporter interviewed him on the phone, Monday evening.
Despite his acknowledgement that the letter was fake, Mr Mbosoh had used it as a basis to attack the former minister on Facebook.
"Umana Okon Umana should be able to produce election results from his units, wards and local government area," Mr Mbosoh said - a similar line used in a statement issued by the APC spokesperson in Akwa Ibom.
Upon our reporter's inquiry, the APC chieftain said he downloaded the letter from a WhatsApp group that is exclusive to the APC members but he declined to provide the name and phone contact of the person that he claimed published the fake letter on the WhatsApp platform.
Mr Mbosoh later sent a text message to the reporter, asking him not to mention his name in the story "to avoid having (a) problem with me".
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Reactions from APC chieftains
Several APC chieftains in Akwa Ibom have come out in defence of Mr Umana.
Edet Ikotidem, a lawyer and a former House of Representatives candidate of the APC in Akwa Ibom, told PREMIUM TIMES, Monday, "Umana Okon Umana did everything, he funded the activities of the APC in the state. I am a witness. Even the presidential rally in Uyo, he bankrolled the rally."
"I was appointed into the 2023 APC governorship campaign committee, Umana gave all of us money to go back to our respective areas to work for the APC in that election.
"Umana from 2015 contributed to the foundation of the APC in Nigeria. He footed the APC bills for the governorship and presidential elections in Akwa Ibom in 2015. That was the only election the APC truly won in Akwa Ibom," Mr Ikotidem said.
"What they are trying to do against Umana is very wrong, it is blatant lies," he added.
Sunny Jackson, an entrepreneur and an APC leader in Akwa Ibom, corroborated Mr Ikotidem's remarks.
"Umana has been funding the APC since 2015 when he contested the governorship election. Even Tinubu himself has knowledge of Umana's contribution to the APC in Akwa Ibom," Mr Jackson told this newspaper.
"These are blackmailers," he said of those accusing Mr Umana of not working for the APC and President Tinubu's victory in the election.
