Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has stated that he was in the wrong political party during his years in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), declaring that he found his true political home after joining the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Akpabio spoke on Friday during the inauguration of access roads to the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates in Karsana District of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, as part of activities marking President Bola Tinubu’s third year in office.

He made the remark while responding to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who had praised him as an “uncommon performer” during his days in the PDP. Akpabio, however, told members of the APC National Working Committee not to attach importance to the comment, stressing that it referred to a period before the APC came into existence.

“Please ignore the comment of the honourable minister that I was an uncommon performer in PDP. He is not talking about PDP of today,” Akpabio said.

The Senate President said he had already spent over seven years as governor of Akwa Ibom State before the APC was formed in 2014, adding that his political convictions naturally aligned with the ruling party.

“A progressive-minded person like me should belong to a progressive family. And therefore, when APC came to be, I discovered that that was my group, that I was in the wrong party called PDP. So I took my exit early and joined the progressives,” he said.

Akpabio also said the PDP had become deeply divided, while describing Wike as the leader of the faction he considered to be the winning side in the opposition party.

“Shortly after that, you now know what happened to PDP. They are fragmented. So, I don’t know how you are going to put it together, but I recognise you as a national leader, national leader of the winning faction of PDP because you are doing well,” he said.

Earlier, Akpabio recalled a visit Wike paid to Akwa Ibom during his time as governor, saying the FCT minister inspected one of the state’s underground drainage projects and remarked at the time that he would “perform miracles” if he became governor of Rivers State.

According to Akpabio, Wike later fulfilled that promise after emerging as Rivers governor. He added that he once joked with him that he had supported his governorship ambition “not to surpass what I did” and advised him to “take it easy.”

Akpabio said Wike’s commitment to infrastructure had now become part of his “DNA.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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