Sacked Akwa Ibom PDP chairperson refuses to vacate office, pledges loyalty to Gov Eno

The sacked chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Aniekan Akpan, has rejected the dissolution of the state executive council, even as he openly declares loyalty to Governor Umo Eno who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, announced the dissolution of the state executive councils of the party in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

Mr Ologunagba said the decision was taken at the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) meeting, this newspaper reported.

The party also constituted a caretaker committee to oversee its activities in the two states for three months.

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 cited a letter signed by the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, which affirmed that no decision was taken to disband the Akwa Ibom executives.

Mr Akpan described the dissolution as “false” and vowed to resist what he called impunity, promising that all necessary steps would be taken to safeguard the integrity of the party structure in the state.

He dismissed insinuations about his closeness to Governor Umo Eno, now of the APC, stressing that politics in Akwa Ibom must be “without bitterness”.

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“The PDP in Akwa Ibom is intact, right from the state down to the ward level. We will resist any impunity,” Mr Akpan said.

“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, pointing the alleged letter from Mr Anyanwu to reporters.

Akpan confesses loyalty to Eno

Before his defection, Mr Eno had vowed in a leaked video—one which led to the eviction of Channels Television reporters from Government House Uyo—that he would retain the PDP structure after joining the APC so that nobody would use it against him.

“As a matter of fact, contrary to some insinuations, I want to run both parties (APC and PDP)? Far from it. And what is wrong with being interested? We would not leave the PDP for thieves to hijack and use it against us.

“If anybody thinks we are going to do that, they have something coming. We will lead the structure of the party (PDP) so that they can work together (with APC). So that people don’t come from outside and think that Mr Eno has moved, let me come and hijack the party. Let the structure of the party remain. They have done their congresses. That’s my position,” Mr Eno had said, referring to the PDP structure in the state.

Also, before Governor Eno defected to the APC, Mr Akpan, while addressing party members at a function, described Mr Eno as “Asian Udo” and pledged to stand with him, vowing to follow the governor wherever he goes, in reference to the governor’s rumoured defection at the time.

At Wednesday’s press briefing in Uyo, a reporter asked Mr Akpan what he meant when he told the governor at a function: “Asian Udo, I stand with you.”

“Loyalty,” Mr Akpan retorted.

Asked if his conscience was clear as a church elder about whether what he was doing was right.

“That one we will take to church,” he responded, prompting laughter in the hall.

He further told reporters that he would not distance himself from Governor Eno simply because the governor had defected to the APC.

“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.