Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obong Paul Ekpo, has described as mere ranting and needless tirade the comments of the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Amadu Attai, on the judgement of the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, which upheld the election of former Governor Godswill Akpabio as the senator representing Akwa Ibom North Senatorial District.

He also lambasted the APC and “a few spineless individuals” over what he described as the attempt to rubbish the unprecedented achievements recorded by the PDP under the governance of Akpabio for eight years by writing frivolous petitions to anti-graft agencies about the former governor, saying they will be shamed in a short while.

Ekpo, in a statement made available to newsmen, called on the APC to accept defeat in good faith, noting that the voices of the people had resonated loudly enough during the last general election that they belonged to the PDP but “Attai and his band of few wailers were deaf to the voices such that they needed the tribunal to make Akwa Ibom electorate’s message to sink in.”

The PDP chief stated that the APC should have proceeded to appeal the judgement rather than resorting to denigrating the judiciary and dragging the names of judges and other innocent individuals in the mud, calling on the appropriate judicial bodies to apply necessary sanctions for the contemptuous way the APC chairman talked about the judiciary “unless he can provide proofs to back up his baseless claims.”

Ekpo, who noted that he would not join issues with Attai on his unreasonable attack of the former governor on spurious and baseless allegations of corruption, maintained that Akpabio is a law-abiding citizen and has demonstrated that by honouring the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), adding that it will soon become clear that the allegations are untrue and without substance.

•Photo shows Senator Akpabio.