Jonathan disappointed us – Governor Akpabio

Governor Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State

By Nse Peter

Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio has not yet recovered from the shocking defeat his party suffered in the just concluded presidential election, Think Akwa Ibom! has learned.

An influential former House of Reps member from Eket Senatorial District, Akwa Ibom State, told Think Akwa Ibom!, Saturday, in Eket that Governor Akpabio is devastated about President Goodluck Jonathan’s loss at the polls and also deeply worried about the future of the Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria.

Think Akwa Ibom! gathered from the PDP chieftain that as soon as Governor Godswill Akpabio came back from Abuja last week, he summoned top PDP politicians in the state to an emergency meeting where he explained how Goodluck Jonathan’s loss may likely affect politics in Akwa Ibom State, and told them to see the forthcoming governorship election in the state as their last chance for political survival and relevance.

“None of us saw this (the defeat of PDP) coming, so you can understand why the governor and all of us are still in shock,” said the former House of Reps member who is leading the campaign for the election of the PDP governorship candidate, Mr. Udom Emmanuel. “It’s a sad moment not only for PDP, but for the Niger Delta region, because we can very well smell a conspiracy here.”

Governor Akpabio, according to the PDP chieftain, blamed the president for the electoral misfortune of the party, saying that “he (Jonathan) allowed APC to take advantage of his weakness”.

He quoted the governor as saying that it was sad for the president to wield so much power, and yet so weak to the extent of allowing the opposition defeat them.

The PDP chieftain said, “It’s ignorance or mischief, for anyone to blame the governor (Akpabio) for what has happened. He (the governor) has told us and we believe him that in the course of the presidential election he made several useful suggestions that could have helped the party to victory, but the president discountenanced them,” adding that “every reasonable person from Akwa Ibom State and South South should see this as our collective loss, instead of finding fault.”

He said the party in Akwa Ibom was even more resolute in its resolve to work harder for the April 11 governorship election, which according to him was one the main reasons Eket Senatorial District Elders Forum held a stakeholders meeting on Saturday with the PDP governorship candidate, Mr. Udom Emmanuel to re-affirm their support for him.