I Was Never In PDP — Akpabio

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has denied ever being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Akpabio made the statement during Tuesday’s Senate plenary while responding to a motion seeking to honor the late former Governor of Kogi State, Ibrahim Idris.

The motion was sponsored by Senator Jibrin Isah, representing Kogi East. While introducing the motion, Isah recalled that Idris was a member of the PDP and noted to Akpabio that they were all members of the party at the time.

“The late Ibrahim Idris was a member of the PDP; I was there while you were there too, all of us were there,” Isah said. He described Idris, who governed Kogi State from May 29, 2003, to January 27, 2012, as the longest-serving governor in the state’s history.

Akpabio, however, interrupted the senator and rejected the reference to his past PDP membership.

“I was never in PDP. My spirit might be there, but my heart was never there. I have always been a progressive,” Akpabio said.

Akpabio served as Governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015 and held the role of Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum during his tenure.

He was elected to the Senate in 2015 on the platform of the PDP, where he served as Senate Minority Leader between 2015 and 2018 before defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2018.

Following the exchange, the Senate passed the motion and observed a minute’s silence in honor of the late former governor.