There are indications that former Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, may soon join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is said to be making concerted effort not to lose him, it was learnt yesterday.

Akpabio is said to have fallen out with his successor Governor Udom Emmanuel.

The development appears to be a confirmation of Akpabio’s statement that “all is not well” when he met with stakeholders in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.

A source said the PDP National Working Committee led by the National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, was locked in a marathon meeting with Akpabio in his Asokoro Abuja home at the weekend.

The meeting is believed to be a last minute effort by the opposition party to stop the Senator’s possible decampment to the ruling party.

Akpabio is said to be unhappy with the governor for his unwillingness to open the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene which Akpabio was said to have built and furnished.

Emmanuel is also said to have failed to complete a portion of the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road.

Akpabio had hinted at a mega rally held at Ikot Ekpene to endorse him and Emmanuel for second terms that a political party is just a vehicle for winning election.

He also reportedly said that whichever party he decided to pitch his tent with in the 2019 elections, he would emerge a winner to continue to deliver dividends of democracy to his people.

This has been widely perceived by political watchers as an imminent plan by Akpabio to decamp to another political party.

A former Deputy Governor Chief Chris Ekpenyong, who chaired the rally, had also reportedly told Emmanuel that all was not well in the Senatorial District.

Ekpenyong is said to have urged the governor to replicate the good roads and industries he has built in his Onna community to other parts of the state, as what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

The issue was said to have cropped when at the APC mega rally in Ikot Ekpene Township Stadium where Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Managing Director Obong Nsima Ekere reportedly faulted the governor for abandoning the people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District by refusing to open the hotel and complete the road.

Observers are said to have wondered why Emmanuel had allowed the Sheraton by Four Points Hotel and the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road issues to linger.

Political analysts have asked what it would have cost the administration to open a hotel that had virtually been completed instead of leaving it to rot.

Sources pointed that even though Akpabio’s predecessor, Obong Victor Attah pitched his tent with his son-in-law Dr Udoma Ekarika rather than supporting Akpabio, he (Akpabio) still built a dualised road complete with the most modern street lights to Attah’s home.

Unconfirmed reports say the end-of-tenure entitlements of Akpabio’s political appointees were yet to be paid simply because they are “Akpabio Boys.”

When contacted, Akpabio’s media aide Jackson Udom said he was not aware of any move by his principal to dump the PDP.

“Senator Akpabio as far as I know is a strong member and leader of the PDP. He is the Minority Leader of the party in the Senate,” Udom added.

 

Source: The Nation