In Akwa Ibom State, founding members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have charged Senate President Godswill Akpabio with betraying the party by allegedly collaborating with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to undermine the APC in order to secure his reelection to the Senate.
On the other hand, Jackson Udom, Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, brushed the accusations aside as “beer parlour rumors.”
According to reports, the irate party members demanded that President Bola Tinubu step in before the Akwa Ibom party disintegrates by outlining their grievances in an open letter.
Chief Victor Affiah (Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District), Elder Okokon James (Uyo Senatorial District), and Peter Ibanga (Eket Senatorial District) all signed the letter.
According to the letter, “Worrisome State of APC in Akwa Ibom State: A Call for Your Urgent Intervention,” Akpabio conspired with PDP leaders to weaken the state’s APC.
According to the signatories, Stephen Ntukekpo, the APC State Chairman, and Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Minister of Petroleum, had both publicly acknowledged that they had carried out Akpabio’s order to destabilize the party in preparation for the 2027 elections.
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The statement continues, “This degree of self-centeredness, greed, treachery, and betrayal is unprecedented to us, the founding fathers of the APC in Akwa Ibom.” Disillusioned party members have been left behind when the state’s APC structure was sold to the PDP government.
“We’ve been told that Senator Akpabio has been given the PDP’s support for his third-term ambition in return for this betrayal. No party members would remain to greet Mr. President when he travels to Akwa Ibom for the 2027 campaigns if immediate action is not done.
According to the chieftains, APC leaders are undermining their own party, while Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno is bolstering the PDP. They also denied rumors that Eno is about to defect to the APC.
“That the APC structure is in complete chaos in a state where the Senate President is from is shocking,” they said. Akpabio has not promised to back President Tinubu’s bid for a second term since joining the APC.
They cautioned that if the APC national leadership doesn’t act quickly, party members in the state could have to join an opposition coalition in time for the 2027 election.
The assistant to Akpabio rejects the claims as “baseless allegations.”
Akpabio’s media assistant, Jackson Udom, responded to the accusations by dismissing them as a calculated effort to sow division between the APC and PDP in Akwa Ibom.
The Akwa Ibom State still has a strong APC. “The people making these claims are trying to incite needless tensions between the APC and the PDP, led by Senator Akpabio,” he stated.
Akpabio and Governor Umo Eno have a cordial working relationship, he claimed, and their political rivals are spreading lies as a result.
Udom went on, “Politics is much more than these unfounded charges. These people are now claiming crazy things about the APC being sold out because of the peace and unity between Akpabio and Governor Eno. Allow them to wait until the start of the election season.
