OBA Defection: Cold War in Akwa Ibom As PDP, APC Trade Words Over 2027
By Ndifreke Bassey (Calabar & Unyime Bassey (Akwa Ibom)
Cold war is raging in Akwa Ibom political circles as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) are engaged in battle of words following the recent defection of Sen. Bassey Albert Akpan to the APC and subsequent declaration to take over the state in 2027.
While APC is boasting that Bassey Albert Akpan (a.k.a OBA) defection to ruling party has set the state for another titanic governorship battle in 2027, the PDP has described him as a rolling stone that gatherers no moss.
Senator Akpan, a two-term PDP senator and Young Progressives Party (YPP) governorship candidate in 2023 general election, defected to APC on Friday, January 19 with all the EXCOs and chieftains of YPP, with strong indications that the House of Reps member and two House of Assembly members elected on YPP would also move into APC once by-elections are concluded. In the 2023 elections, Senator Akpan polled 132,262 votes, APC, whose candidate, Akan Udofia, was removed from the ballot by court order, scored 127,602 and Pastor Umo Eno won the elections with 350,348 votes.
Akpan, the commissioner for finance for almost all of Akpabio’s tenure, at his defection ceremony decried poor leadership in the state, maintaining that apart from Akpabio, no other Governor has served the state well.
Analysts argue that OBA defection to APC signifies his seriousness and deep passion to occupy the governorship seat even as there are some undercurrents that would likely play out ahead of 2027.
Speaking in Uyo shortly after the defection, the State PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr Boronno Bassey, described the defection of Senator Albert and the entire coalition with APC as a movement into political oblivion and can never be a threat in any way.
Describing Akwa Ibom PDP as a solid political party, said: “Senator Akpan’s defection to APC is like a man jumping from a lake to Ocean.
We sympathize with him not just sympathy but his new political oblivion which he had launched himself into. As a political party, PDP is solid and has always been solid in Akwa Ibom.
“We have seen all these in the past, we have seen those who defected to small mushroom political parties with the hope that their smaller party would capture Akwa Ibom state but it didn’t happen.
“We commend Akwa Ibom people so much because they are politically enlightened.
They know the people who are statesmen and also know people who are out to pursue their selfish interests.
If you listened to the conversation trailing all these issues of defection, nobody is talking about the development of the state.
They are talking about how to grab power which is not what to be talked about now as 2027 is still far.”
Bassey maintained that PDP has witnessed several stillborn coalitions and promised that the latest one between Senator Bassey Albert and the APC will never succeed.
Launching another tirade on PDP, the All Progressives Congress (APC) cautioned the PDP in Akwa Ibom State to channel its energy “towards the eradication of the prevailing hunger, poverty and suffering in the State as witnessed in the last nine years”, instead of insulting Senate President Godswill Akpabio, CON.
In a statement dated January 28, 2024 and signed by State Chairman of APC, Chief Steven Ntukekpo, the party challenged the PDP to explain to Akwaibomites what happened to the hundreds of billions of Naira earned by the state in the last nine years, asking “Where are the tooth pick, flour mill, syringe, automobile and several other ground breaking industries? We should not be reminded of the ownership of Globus Bank, VKS, Hensek, the true ownership of Ibom Air?”, The statement read in part:
“We have come across a disjointed press statement by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a monumental national disgrace, lamenting its perennial failures and simultaneously attempting to tarnish the reputation of the President of the Nigerian Senate, His Excellency, Senator Godswill Akpabio CON. Regrettably, this abandoned party with fragile foundations, possibly haunted by profound anxiety and the specter of its tainted conscience, choose to chase after illusions instead of addressing substantive issues”.
“As a distinguished politician, national asset and a source of pride for the Niger Delta, Senator Akpabio had seized the moment following the recent decampment of Senator Albert Bassey Akpan to All Progressives Congress (APC), to highlight the strong prospect of his party in 2027 elections”, adding that the inexplicable reaction of the PDP to this simple show of pride and confidence in the strength and growth of APC is perplexing.
“However, it should not come as a surprise, given the PDP’S history of repeated failures, including nearly nine years of immeasurable economic exploitation and plundering, social degradation and policy inconsistencies, rendering the party devoid of any semblance of logic”.
“It is worth noting that, buoyed by the accomplishments of our great party, the APC, particularly under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
