The Senate minority leader and former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, has said that about 20 senators of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, are planning to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Premium Times reports that Mr. Akpabio said all the senators were waiting for was for the PDP, which lost power at the centre to the APC in 2015, to resolve its internal crisis.
The PDP has been factionalised since its national convention in Port Harcourt last year.
One faction is led by a former Borno State governor, Ali Sheriff, while the other is led by a former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi.
Mr. Akpabio spoke Thursday in Abuja at the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, and expanded caucus meeting of the Ahmed Makarfi faction.
Some senators including Nelson Effiong representing Akwa Ibom south recently left the PDP for APC citing the division in the party.
Mr. Akpabio said just as some were leaving the PDP, many more were planning to join the party.
“As I speak, so many senators from the opposing party are eager to join the PDP. All they want is a return of peace to the party, once that is done, I can assure that 20 senators are on their way to joining the PDP,” he said.
The former governor advised others thinking of leaving the PDP to rethink and also said those who left the PDP will regret it because according to him “PDP is bouncing back to victory in 2019”.
Mr. Akpabio warned PDP members that now is the time to tackle the crisis within the party otherwise, they risk losing the forthcoming governorship election in Ekiti state.
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