Akpabio hails Wike as leader of winning faction of PDP

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Friday described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, as the national leader of the “winning faction” of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Akpabio made the remark during the commissioning of access roads to the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates in the Karsana District of the FCT as part of activities marking President Bola Tinubu’s third year in office.

The Senate President was responding to Wike’s earlier remarks in which the FCT minister described him as an uncommon performer during his tenure as governor of Akwa Ibom State under the PDP.

Akpabio, however, urged members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to disregard Wike’s reference to his time in the PDP, saying he now considers himself an “ancestor” of the opposition party.

“Members of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, please ignore the comment of the minister that I was an uncommon performer in the PDP. He is not talking about the PDP of today, and you need to know that at that time there was no APC,” Akpabio said.

“APC was born in about 2014, and by that time I was already seven and a half years as a governor, and that’s why I sometimes refer to myself as an ancestor.

“I was sworn into office way back in 2007, and there was no APC then. A progressive-minded person like me should belong to a progressive family. So, when the APC came to be, I discovered that that was my group and that I was in the wrong party called the PDP. So, I exited early and joined the progressives. Shortly after that, you now know what happened to the PDP.

“They fragmented. I don’t know how you are going to put it today, but I recognize you as the national leader of the winning faction of the PDP because you are doing well,” he added.