APC CHALLENGES PDP TO TACKLE HUNGER IN AKWA IBOM, INSTEAD INSULTING SENATOR AKPABIO

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has cautioned the PDP in Akwa Ibom State to channel its energy “towards the eradication of the prevailing hunger, poverty and suffering in the State as witnessed in the last nine years”, instead of insulting Senate President Godswill Akpabio, CON.

In a reaction to PDP’s recent diatribe against the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, CON, the Akwa Ibom State Chairman of APC, Chief Steven Ntukekpo, also challenged the PDP to explain to Akwaibomites what happened to the hundreds of billions of Naira earned by the state in the last nine years. “Where are the tooth pick, flour mill, syringe, automobile and several other ground breaking industries? We should not be reminded of the ownership of Globus Bank, VKS, Hensek, the true ownership of Ibom Air”, he said in a press statement dated January 28, 2024.

The statement read in part:
“We have come across a disjointed press statement by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a monumental  national disgrace, lamenting its perennial failures and simultaneously attempting to tarnish the reputation of the President of the Nigerian Senate, His Excellency, Senator Godswill Akpabio CON. Regrettably, this abandoned party with fragile foundations, possibly haunted by profound anxiety and the spectre of its tainted conscience, choose to chase after illusions instead of addressing substantive issues”.
 
Chief Ntukekpo recalled that: “As a distinguished politician, national asset and a source of pride for the Niger Delta, Senator Akpabio had seized  the moment following the recent decampment of Senator Albert Bassey Akpan to All Progressives Congress (APC), to highlight the strong prospect of his party in 2027 elections”, adding that the inexplicable reaction of the PDP to this simple show of pride and confidence in the strength and growth of APC is perplexing.
 
“However, it should not come as a surprise, given the PDP’S history of repeated failures, including  nearly nine years of immeasurable economic exploitation and plundering, social degradation and policy inconsistencies, rendering the party devoid of any semblance of logic”.
 
“It is worth noting that, buoyed by the accomplishments of our great party, the APC, particularly under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu  GCFR, Senator Akpabio, as a devoted and committed party man, is politically, constitutionally and morally justified in steering his people towards a more promising future heralded by the Renewed Hope Agenda. Senator Akpabio as a dedicated APC stalwart is pointing his people towards the emerging future, which is the APC in Akwa Ibom State and the Niger Delta”.
 
“Isn’t it ironic that while the PDP delights in provoking our party and insulting one of the great leaders of our nation , a former Governor , a former Minority Leader of the senate , a former minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, because of Akwa Ibom politics, the only feasible achievements that could be ascribed to the PDP were recorded during his tenure as the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State which led to Nigerians and indeed the world describing him as the Uncommon Transformer?”
 
He added that, “the Senate President does not need an ill-intended advice from PDP to engage the challenges of his office, which he is already discharging to national commendation and international applause. No wonder, the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) recently after 59 years elected him into their Executive Council”.
 
The APC Chairman said, “the lame allegations of  ‘process manipulation and sharp practices including alleged budget padding and diversion of public funds’, are not just laughable but products of demented minds, the sorry remnants of PDP”. He then challenged the PDP to approach the relevant agencies or the courts, instead of baseless insinuations, if it has any modicum of shame and iota of evidence to its warped claims.
 
“As for the oft-touted claim by the PDP of N108 billion investigation against Senator Akpabio by EFCC which is a figment of their imagination, we urge PDP to come to terms with the reality as spurious allegations  can never translate to indictments”, he said .  
 
“Recall that as governor of Akwa Ibom State, Akpabio left an indelible imprint unequalled, unparallel, and incontestable by any administration in Akwa Ibom State. As minister of Niger Delta, Senator Akpabio initiated unprecedented measures to check endless looting and plundering hitherto propagated by the PDP government. He set the pace for transparency, accountability and progress in the Niger Delta, when he insisted on the forensic audit of NDDC. Thus, rather than insult Senator Akpabio, the PDP owes him apology and utmost respect for setting the template for national probity and development”.
 
In conclusion, the APC assured all Akwa Ibomites and Nigerians that with the renewed hope agenda of HE President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, “the nation will soon witness an uncommon transformation, development, poverty alleviation and growth that they truly and rightly deserve”.