I Hope It Was Not Anti-Party When All PDP National Assembly Members Had A Meeting With Gov Otu — Akpanke Reacts To Allegation of Romancing With APC
Peter Akpanke, the lawmaker representing Obanliku/Obudu/Bekwarra Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has firmly denied allegations of a close relationship with the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The allegations, made public through a leaked conversation between Senator Jarigbe Agom and suspended Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Vena Ikem, suggest Akpanke has been involved in actions that undermine the PDP.
Below is the unedited text message shared by Vena Ikem: “Emana was Sen Sandy’s project. You supported it but today, Sen Sandy and I have gone past that and moved on. Why will I be having issues with you because of Emana. Where is the Emana today? ”
“Even life is not forever. You thought you were fooling me. You rushed to Calabar to reverse Adida’s suspension. You have been fighting me but I chose to ignore. I also found out that I was the only one with you in the Leadership. May God judge both of us. I will suffer the repercussions if I am at fault and vice versa. You stopped talking to everyone that stood by Obule because Peter lost out in his machinations to embarrass me. I will definitely not wait to be decimated.”
“My issue with you is simple- You listen to Peter’s lies. His romance with APC is legendary. There are clear signals that he would eventually move but you see nothing wrong with that. You knew of his bargains with APC and you only mentioned it in passing to me, after the election. You even called people to work with Peter against me in Bekwarra. You descended in to the arena, even as State Chairman. Peter thinks he can backstab. I won’t keep my back. There is an obvious fight and I have to face it. Peter and I can’t work together. We have to face each other and you are on his side. You also meet with Peter Odey very frequently. That’s not good for our Party and there were complaints from chairman everywhere.
“You have held many more positions than me. You started before me and I must defer to you on that. You were not there forever and I won’t be Senator forever. There’s time for everything.”
However, in a statement issued on Saturday, Akpanke, firmly denied the allegation, saying he has never been engaged in anti-party activities to suggest that he is gearing towards leaving the party.
The statement read:
“I just read from the FB Wall of Hon. Barrister Venatius Ikem, the purportedly suspended State Chairman of PDP, that among the reasons for all the brouhaha as adduced from his social media chat with our political leader, Distinguished Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, is that among others, the State Chairman is on my side. The senator went ahead in the quoted chat to virtually declare war against me.”
“With utmost respect to our great party and all her leaders and stakeholders, and for the fact that the Distinguished Senator has not refuted or dissociated himself from the quoted chat, let me unequivocally state here that whatever may have prompted the senator into such an unpalatable opinion is personal to him and a strict calculated attempt to brand me with a ridiculous and undeserved apparel for whatever gains.”
“In my incurable nature of respect for leaders and constituted authority, I shall never join issues with the Distinguished Senator or any other party leader in any fora or at any level.”
“If relating with the State Chairman, who is also my constituent, constitutes a crime against anybody or our great party to warrant plotting against him, I stand to be corrected.”
“If relating with the State Deputy Governor, who became my friend long before both of us became politicians, is a crime against any leader or my party, suggesting that I intend to move to another party, I stand to be corrected.”
“I also hope that it was not anti-party when all the National Assembly members, who are members of our great party, honoured an invitation to a meeting with the State Governor under the esteemed leadership of the leader of our party’s Caucus in the National Assembly.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, I have never been engaged in anti-party activities to suggest that I am gearing towards leaving our great party. Like all elected representatives of our people, it is my conviction that in as much as we must promote and sustain the programmes of our great party, we are also positioned to engage in governance, which is all-encompassing, since we are now representing every constituent and not only members of our party. That accounts for why beyond my outreach to members of our great party, I also engage in people-oriented programmes for the benefit of the generality of our people. If this approach of mine is considered antithetical to the tenets of our great party, I stand to be corrected.”
“Finally, let me hereby place on record that contrary to the misrepresentation in the chat earlier referred to, I am not and shall never engage in any contest or war with our political leader and Distinguished Senator. Whatever misinformation is at his disposal should please be disregarded. I am grateful to God and the good people of our party and my Federal Constituency for my current privilege. I am not in a hurry to decide for God and my good people what my next opportunity should be. Thus, I shall not begin to antagonise or berate anybody for what only the future holds for me. If anybody has become ambitious on my behalf to leave the party, such should take the lead and leave. For me, I am still an active member of PDP.”
“Therefore, I shall continue to execute my current mandate to the best of my comportment and capacity with total disregard to any concocted tales and distractions. If I had the opportunity of being invited to any meeting, if at all, where the acclaimed suspension of the state chairman was tabled and discussed, I would have ventured my opinion. Like many others, I was only privileged to see it on social media. Whoever has any axe to grind with the State Chairman should please grind it and please desist from deploying me as an ingredient. Take it or leave it, I cannot be compelled to disregard the vehemence, doggedness and resilience with which Barrister Venatius Ikem led this our great party into the impeccable glowing status as the first opposition party in the state to win appreciable seats in both the State House of Assembly and the National Assembly.”
“Going forward, it is my considered candid opinion that whatever issues are currently affecting the party should please continue to be discussed for the betterment of the party.”
Best wishes to our great party.
Hon. Peter Akpanke
Member, Representing Obanliku/Obudu/Bekwarra Federal Constituency.