By Ifiok Williams
Nigerian politics is a theatre of illusions. And sometimes, the most dangerous people in that theatre are not the politicians themselves. Some are writers who brandish their pens against anyone they have been paid to destroy.
Just recently, I read a piece which made me cringe. The title was sensational: “Exposing Rep Idem’s Consistent Disregard for Governmental Activities.” Written by one Torobong Ekpo, the subject was about Rt. Hon. Unyime Idem, PhD, Member representing Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency.
His crime? He was absent from an empowerment programme organised by a colleague. That is it. That is the entire scandal.
Now, let us reason together like adults. I have covered this beat for years. I have seen politicians attend events in two or three different states in one day. I have seen them fly in by helicopter, wave, and fly out. I have seen them send representatives. I have also seen them simply not show up. But I have never seen a man’s absence from one event turned into a indictment of his character. Until now.
Here is what the writer did not tell you. Rep. Unyime Idem, PhD was in Abuja. Not at a party. Not at a relaxation spot. He was at the National Assembly, attending to official responsibilities. He is the Chairman of the House Committee on Procurement. That is a job. That is a serious job. That is a job that does not stop because Hon. Patrick Umoh is holding an empowerment programme in Akwa Ibom. But wait. It gets better.
The same day, the same Saturday, August 15, 2026. Rep. Idem had also scheduled the commissioning of a school block he built for his constituents. His own project. His own money. His own commitment to his people.
He could not make it. So he sent Hon. Saturday Akpan to represent him. The school was commissioned. The project was delivered and the people were happy.
But here is the question that no one is asking: If Rep. Idem could not attend his own programme, why are we crucifying him for not attending someone else’s programme? That question answers itself.
The writer claimed that all House of Representatives members from Akwa Ibom State attended the event. All of them. Ten members. Every single one.
I was there. I covered that event. Only three of the federal representatives were there. Three. Let me name them: Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo, Rt. Hon. Uduak Ududoh and Hon. Clement Jimbo. That means six members were absent. Six!
But did the writer mention their absence? No. Did he accuse them of disrespect? No. Did he write a headline about their “consistent disregard”? No. He picked one man. One man out of seven absent members. And he built a divisive narrative around him.
You do not need a degree in journalism to see what is happening here. This is not journalism. This is targeted demolition. This is character assassination dressed up as public interest commentary. And then there was the photograph.
The writer published a photograph to reinforce his story. But here is the twist—that photograph was not from the event he was writing about.
It was from a commissioning of projects built by Rep. Unyime Idem on August 8, 2026, at Western Annang Secondary Commercial School (WASCO). A different event. A different day. A different context. That is a manipulation. That is someone who knows what he is doing and is hoping you will not check.
If you want to fight Rep. Unyime Idem, fight him on the issues. Fight him on his performance. Fight him on his bills. Fight him on his projects. But do not fight him because he was in Abuja doing his job while you were in Akwa Ibom speculating. That is weak. That is petty. And honestly, it is beneath dignity.
There is something else that bothered me about that piece. The writer tried to drag in 2031. Yes, 2031. A political ambition that is five years away. Five years!
So now, because a man might have an ambition five years from now, he cannot be absent from any event today? He must be everywhere? He must cancel his National Assembly duties to attend every empowerment programme? In fact, let him become a spirit so he could be present everywhere at the same time.
Let me close with this.
If we are going to judge politicians by attendance at events, let us apply the same standard to everyone. Let us not pick and choose. Let us not single out one man while ignoring seven others. Let us not call one man’s absence “disregard” and call the others “busy schedule”
That is the kind of double standard that destroys journalism. And I have not spent my life in this profession to watch it be reduced to a weapon for settling political scores.
Rep. Unyime Idem was in Abuja. He was working. His constituents know it. The people who matter know it.
And as for the rest? Let them keep writing. Let them keep twisting. The truth is a stubborn thing. It outlasts every headline.
