Akpabio’s Arrest Plot to Weaken Legislature, Our Party, says PDP

By Chibuzo Ukaibe

(Leadership Newspaper)

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday declared that the travails of the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senaor Godswill Akpabio, was part of the plot by the current administration to weaken the legislature and by extension the opposition ahead of 2019.

Senator Akpabio

The party also, said the ostentatious thanksgiving of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr. Babachir David Lawal, portrays the insensitivity of the All Progressives Congress (APC), at a time the North-East geo-political zone was ravaged by insurgency.

Akpabio was on Friday invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following a petition alleging that he stole N108bn.

The Department of State Services (DSS) had recently raided Akpabio’s residence in Akwa Ibom State government house.

Addressing a press conference over Akpabio’s arrest, the national publicity secretary of PDP, Olisa Metuh, who accused President Muhammadu Buhari of dictatorship, said “On the issue of Senator Godswill Akpabio, we invite Nigerians to note that in the three rich states of Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and Lagos states, there were petitions against their former governors.

“Whereas the former APC governors of Lagos and Rivers were rewarded with ministerial nominations, their Akwa Ibom PDP counterpart and the current Senate Minority Leader is being hounded by the EFCC.

“This is in spite of the common knowledge that Akwa-Ibom under the Senator Akpabio is arguably the least indebted state in Nigeria, and where the governor appropriately applied available resources to effectively transform the state.

“We challenge the APC to show Nigerians any of their governor that matched the feats achieved in Akwa-Ibom under Senator Akpabio, whose only building in Uyo is uncompleted and being built with verifiable bank loans.

“The PDP therefore state categorically that the orchestrated investigation of Senator Akpabio is politically motivated and targeted at weakening the PDP for 2019 elections, by virtue of his being the face of opposition in the National Assembly.

“It is also part of the fight by the Presidency to weaken the legislature as an arm of government and prevent it from effectively carrying out its constitutional role of checks and balances in a democracy.

“As we speak, no APC member, despite the public petitions of corruption and squandering of state funds, has been invited or questioned by the EFCC. We challenge the EFCC, as an anti-corruption agency, to show Nigerians any member of the APC it has so far questioned, not to talk of being arrested since the emergence of this administration, despite petitions against them.

“Recall that even the case of former Adamawa state Governor Murtala Nyako started before the advent of the current administration but is now reportedly being worked on ostensibly to extricate APC members involved.”

He further said while the PDP is not averse to the anti-corruption crusade of the current administration, the opposition spokesman, the “APC and its government have been busy denigrating the PDP,” appropriating their achievements while at the same time blackmailing, hounding and harassing our elected members with the aim to cow and force them to leave the PDP and join their party.

“We have verifiable reports from our key members that agents of the APC have been approaching them to join the APC with threats to use the EFCC to victimize them should they refuse.

“The APC and its agents have been boasting that they have the powers to deal with or spare any person, depending on the party such person belongs to.

“This clearly explains why the so-called fight against corruption has been selective and focused against PDP members, despite counsels by stakeholders that it should be holistic and in accordance with the due process of the law.”

He said if the APC led government had found any incriminating evidence against Akpabio when DSS stormed the state recently, they would have made it known.

“The issue is that if the agency actually found anything in Akwa Ibom there will be euphoria. It would be dramatized. If they have found anything we challenge them to produce it. As long as they don’t do that they are fishing for information that they will never get.”

He said the attack on Akpabio was a disincentive, adding that they stand completely with the achievement of Akpabio.