The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom
State and the media aide to former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill
Akpabio, are on war of words over the latest alleged romance by Akpabio with
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar following the latter emergence as the candidate of the
PDP.
Akpabio allegedly called to congratulate Atiku on
phone immediately he was elected as the PDP presidential candidate for the 2019
general election, but the calls were ignored, and had even reached out to be
the running mate to Atiku.
But one of the media aides to Akpabio, Mr. Anietie
Ekong, said on Wednesday that the supposed phone call from the senator to the PDP presidential
candidate reportedly rejected was cooked as Akpabio was deeply involved in the
APC national convention.
He admitted that Akpabio's support for Atiku was in
the past when the senator was a member of the PDP.
“The truth is Akpabio's politics is not driven by
the position he is seeking, so he is not interested in being the running mate
to anybody in a party he had left,” Ekong said.
Reacting, the PDP state Chairman, Obong Paul Ekpo,
warned media handlers of the senator to exercise caution and restrain in the
conduct of their duties.
Ekpo, who gave the warning through the Publicity
Secretary of the state PDP, Ini Emembong, noted that “it has become their modus
operandi to stir up crises for their principal and later sit around to cry when
the reaction occurs.
“In this particular case, the stories about Akpabio
and Atiku first emanated from the senator’s media aides or better put media
hirelings, who in their hero worship, feel that their boss, the senator is a
god and therefore omnipotent, omniscient and absolutely infallible.
“They published the picture of Atiku at the
residence of the former Senate Minority Leader and commended the Akpabio’s
foresight.
“Before long, all those sympathetic to the downward
spiral that our former boss has accidentally engaged, populated the internet
space with the photograph and jaundiced analogy which now fuelled speculations
of the return of the former governor to PDP.
“With this trend of events, how can the media
office of Akpabio now blame the government of Akwa Ibom State and the PDP? This blame game, which before now, was alien
to the senator and his media strategists, has become commonplace with them-signs
of their full adaptation to APC’s strategy.
“Additionally, why should people not believe that
the former governor can do a summersault and spot another person other than the
presidential candidate of his party? Was he not the same person who said
despite his support for President Goodluck Jonathan that his heart was with
Buhari?
“So if rational people juxtapose his conduct then
and now, and conclude that he is capable of anything, how is PDP to blame?”
Ekpo argued that Akpabio should not claimed to have been the oxygen or life-wire
of PDP in the state as he was not a foundation member of the party, and the party had been winning elections before
he was given the privilege of being the governorship candidate of the party in
2007.
“We do not blame the senator’s media handlers for
deifying him, it earns them a pay and a livelihood and we must show
understanding.
“But they should find time to ask their god the
circumstances of his gubernatorial nomination in 2007. We won’t go further than
this. The fact remains that PDP had been winning elections pre-Akpabio and will
win post-Akpabio,” he said.
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