With the 2027 governorship election in Akwa Ibom State still three years ahead, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio at the weekend put Governor Umo Eno on edge when he declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would produce a governor in the state in 2027.
This is coming as the Young Progressives Party (YPP), which pulled a huge upset in Akwa Ibom State during the 2023 general election, took a rare step on Friday, January 19, by merging its structures across the state into the APC.
Speaking at a meeting of the APC leaders in Uyo, the state capital, Akpabio said it would be an aberration for him as the number three citizen of Nigeria not to have a governor from the same party at the end of an election.
“It will be an aberration for the number three citizen not to have a governor from the same party at the end of an election,” Akpabio said.
“You know, wherever the Senate president is, that is where the party is. Is it possible that Nigeria will give Akwa Ibom the number three citizen and at the end of the election, it will not produce an APC governor?” he asked.
Akpabio, who acknowledged the internal crisis in the APC in the state, said the party could not win the 2023 Senatorial election in Akwa Ibom North-east and Akwa Ibom South districts because of “lack of coordination”.
He urged the party to set up a committee to reconcile the party leaders in the state ahead of the 2027 general election.
“I’ve mandated the chairman of the party to set up a reconciliation committee in the state; we have to bring our members together. If we are united, there is no barrier that we can’t break.
“We will make sure that (the) APC in Akwa Ibom is one; we will give people the option that either you belong to us or them.
“They should not be in-between. We are going to resolve all the issues in APC, we are going to advise some people you can’t be here and there,” the Senate president said.
Earlier, the APC Chairperson in Akwa Ibom, Stephen Ntukekpo, lauded President Bola Tinubu for “ensuring inclusiveness” in his administration and pledged his loyalty to the party.
Meanwhile the YPP has merged its structures across the state into the APC, in solidarity with Akpabio, as confirmed by a statement from the Senate president’s media office in Abuja.
The governorship candidate of the YPP in the 2023 general election, Senator Bassey Albert, along with the deputy governorship candidate, retired AIG Asuquo Amba; the State Executive Committee led by State Chairman Mr. Nyeneime Andy; the Elders’ Council; chapter and ward officers, and the entire executive council of the Akwa Ubok Abasi campaign organisation (totalling over 10,000 members) paid a solidarity visit to the Senate President at his residence in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state.
During this visit, they declared their support for President Tinubu.
The YPP formed just seven months after the 2023 general election, emerged as the fastest-growing party in the state.
In the 2023 governorship election, the party secured the second-highest number of valid votes and won two seats in the House of Assembly and one in the House of Representatives, according to results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Expressing the party’s stance during the solidarity visit to the Senate President, Ephraim Inyang-Eyen, the YPP candidate for the Eket Senatorial District in the 2023 election, conveyed that the party members reached a unanimous decision to merge with the APC.
He said: “We have come to tell you that the time has come for us to make necessary adjustments for the growth of Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria.
“We have come with a message of solidarity to you. The last time a person from the South-South zone occupied the position of the Senate President was about 44 years ago. We are determined to stand by you and support you.
“We are satisfied with the economic policy of President Bola Tinubu. We are determined to stand by you and strengthen your hand so that you can achieve more.
“We have come wholeheartedly to pledge our solidarity. We have come to make a fundamental commitment. After the Supreme Court judgment, we came to a decision and the right decision was that we should support the APC.
“We have come with the totality of the YPP family in solidarity. This solidarity is not word of mouth, it is total. Today, YPP in Akwa Ibom State has become APC. We have come to submit that you lead us,” he said.
Okon Bassey in Uyo
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