Akwa Ibom State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governors Forum, Godswill Akpabio has flayed his colleagues for not respecting President Goodluck Jonathan.
Akpabio assured president Jonathan that the PDP Governors Forum, under his leadership would remain loyal to him and his office.
The Governor who gave this assurance in a statement on Thursday while delivering his goodwill message at the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the ruling PDP at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, however, accused some of the governors for disrespecting Mr. president.
He said, “We are ready to stand solidly behind the leader of the PDP in the nation,” he said, stressing that, “Mr. President, we have never failed in supporting any president in power. We always respect and support any president in power.”
Akpabio further added that “When our late President, Yar’Adua was in power, there was no single PDP governor that challenged him, either on the pages of newspaper or at any meeting. We even went to the extent of organizing prayer for him and we supported all his policies, yours cannot be different.”
He reminded his co governors that, “Leadership comes from God and he gives it to whom he pleases. My assurance to you is that the 23 PDP governors are solidly behind you”.
The Governor also congratulated the President on the mid-term report he presented recently.
“We thank you for your mid-term report. We have keyed into your transformation agenda and we are saying no shaking,” he said.
“It is interesting to note that when we started in 1999, there was no need for the PDP governors forum, because as at that time, the PDP governors were over 33 and controlled the then Nigeria governors forum, but over time because of various disagreement, intrigues and scheming which are part and parcel of politics, the rank and file of PDP governors depleted,” he said.
Meanwhile, Akpabio’s was, however, not accurate in his calculation as the PDP had a lot less than 30 governors in 1999 with the then Alliance for Democracy, AD, controlling the six southwestern states and the then All Peoples Party also leading many states.
“When I became a governor in 2007, we were about 29 in number and through various court decisions; all of a sudden we were reduced to a level where we are now, only 23,” Mr. Akpabio said.
He also said the “PDP governors’ forum is therefore a new baby, a new organ and we are now reporting ourselves to NEC that we are new born and ready to serve.
“We have been serving, on behalf of my colleagues I want to say we have come to NEC not just as governors individually but we are now coming under the PDP governors’ forum”.
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