APC factional chairman in Akwa Ibom joins PDP days after Akpabio’s defection

– Udoma Ekarika says he is proud to return to the PDP again

– Ekarika is optimistic that Governor Udom Emmanuel will win the 2019 election in the state

– He accuses a cabal in the state of destroying the PDP and coming to the APC

Udoma Ekarika, the factional chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom, has reportedly defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) days after a former governor and current senator, Godswill Akpabio, left the ruling party in the state.

Our reporters gathered that Ekarika announced his defection at a political rally organised on Monday, August 20, in Onna by the people of Akwa Ibom south district to endorse Governor Udom Emmanuel’s bid for re-election.

The report said Ekarika, a former commissioner in the state, was narrowly defeated by Akpabio in the 2007 governorship race in the state. karika as saying: “I’m coming back from a very useless party called APC, I am proud to become part of PDP again.”

He also clarified what he meant by ‘useless’ saying he was referring to the APC chapter in the state and not the national level.

“Yes, APC in Akwa Ibom state is a useless party because of the useless people who have come to join it,” he said.

Concerning his claim that he was validly elected chairman of the APC in the state, Ekarika said: “My aspiration to lead the party was borne out of my desire to reposition the party for electoral success in 2019 and beyond.

“But the cabal, who were the destroyers of PDP who came to APC because they believe in impunity and imposition, came to say instead of doing the needful which was to conduct an election, they preferred to do an unconstitutional thing called consensus. There is nothing like consensus in the APC guideline.

“I was not happy about it; they should have allowed the will of the people to prevail.”

Concerning Udom’s reelection plan, he said: “Udom will not have any tough battle with anybody. What is on the ground is that Victor Attah did two terms, Godswill Akpabio also did two terms, so Udom Emmanuel would be allowed to do two terms too.

“Apart from that, Udom has done very well. Udom has done very well, I can say it loud. One of the things he has done which Akwa Ibom people appreciate it is that he has brought peace to this state.”

TRACK NEWS earlier reported that the former minority leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, officially dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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