Former Governor of Akwa Ibom and incumbent Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio, said he has not joined race for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress.
He made the clarification Thursday at the party national secretariat after a meeting with the national chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.
Akpabio was accompanied by another chieftain of the party, Chief Don Etiebet.
The Minister told newsmen when asked that his focus was the development of the Niger Delta region and how to ensure harmonious relationship among the APC stakeholders in the region.
He said: “People have mention my name. You know I’m a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I work with the President who is very focussed and I’m determined to ensure that he ends well. “So, my job as a Minister of Niger Delta is to continue to interact with stakeholders for the Niger Delta.
“Like you have seen me, I’m with one of my leaders, Chief of Niger Delta, Don Etiebet. We want to continue to interact with each other, discuss issues and ensure the peace of that region and I can tell you that from south-south Nigeria today, is one of the peaceful regions in the country and we want to keep it. So there is no doubt that my job has not ended, my job is to continue to support Mr President, not just to ensure the completion of his legacy projects but also to ensure that his projects and legacy leads beyond 2023.”
Reacting to litigation against the emergence of new Chairman in the Akwa Ibom State chapter of the party, Mr. Stephen Leo Ntukekpo, Akpabio commended the APC National Working Committee for submitting itself to the pronouncement of the Court just as he urged the party stakeholders in the state to cooperate with Ntukekpo leadership.
“When a matter is in court it is subjudice for somebody to make a conclusion or draw a conclusion, not even to comment on it.
“I happen to be a lawyer so I know that. So I will not be able to argue with my brother and major stakeholders in my state and in Nigeria, Chief Don Etiebet on the issue of who is the chairman or the issue of who is not chairman because the matters are still within the purview of the court. But I want to thank the National Working Committee of our great party for being law abiding and for adhering to judicial pronouncement. The court had given the chairmanship of the party and the leadership of the party in Akwa Ibom to an individual and other persons.
“The candidate the Congresses produced, we don’t want to go into the merit and demerits of who won and who did not win but because we are in court, we are going to abide by court orders as it’s stated in the Court of Appeal has already dismissed the appeal brought forward by the party. The APC withdrawn from all appeals in respect of Akwa Ibom and the National Working Committee has enjoined us as leaders to go home and ensure peace and that is why I’m discussing with my leader. So the question of somebody was sworn in, somebody was not sworn in.
“We must not forget the fact that we have another opportunity in the democracy to ventilate our thought. If you think you are not carried along, you go to Court and if you go to Court and the court said maintain status quo, everybody knows the meaning of status quo.
“Status quo means the court judgement. It means the consequential orders to ensure the swearing in of the new chairman because the APC has withdrawn from that appeal. The status quo must be maintained which means swear in and obey the court order and the party has done that. I want to urge my leader, let’s go home and also abide by party’s decision to ensure harmony and peace,” he said.
