The sacked chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Aniekan Akpan, has publicly rejected the dissolution of the state executive council by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
Remarkably, Akpan openly declared his loyalty to Governor Umo Eno, who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, had announced the dissolution of the party’s state executive councils in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states in a statement posted on X on Tuesday.
The party also constituted a caretaker committee to oversee activities in the two states for three months.
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Speaking at a press briefing at the PDP Secretariat in Uyo, Mr Akpan accused the PDP NWC of acting outside its powers, claiming that “no formal meeting was convened to approve the dissolution.” He vouched to resist what he called “impunity.”
Akpan cited a letter signed by the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, which he claimed “affirmed that no decision was taken to disband the Akwa Ibom executives.”
He described the dissolution as “false” and vowed: “The PDP in Akwa Ibom is intact, right from the state down to the ward level. We will resist any impunity,” adding: “We have it on good authority that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party that claimed to have dissolved the state executive council did not convene any formal meeting to take such a decision.”
“The National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu, has issued a press release and conveyed a letter to us showing that there was no such meeting and affirming that no formal NWC meeting was held to dissolve the state executives of the party in Akwa Ibom,” he said.
Mr Akpan dismissed insinuations about his closeness to Governor Umo Eno of the APC, stressing that politics in Akwa Ibom must be “without bitterness.”
When a reporter recalled Akpan telling the Governor at a function: “Asian Udo, I stand with you,” Akpan retorted, “Loyalty.”
Asked if his conscience was clear as a church elder about his actions, he replied, “That one we will take to church,” prompting laughter.
He further told reporters that he would not distance himself from Governor Eno just because of the defection:“The governor had always said the time for politicking is over; we are now in governance. When the time comes, if you want to come and contest the election in PDP, we are available. It doesn’t mean we should distance ourselves because the governor is now in the APC,” he said.
This stance follows an earlier vow by Governor Eno in a leaked video that he would retain the PDP structure after joining the APC so that “nobody would use it against him.”
The Governor had stated: “We would not leave the PDP for thieves to hijack and use it against us… We will lead the structure of the party (PDP) so that they can work together (with APC).”
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