Defection Hits Akwa Ibom PDP, Founding Member, Others Decamp to APC

By Okon Bassey in Uyo

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have further been depleted as the founding member of PDP in the area, Chief Samingo Etukakpan, has decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with his followers and loyalists.

The event which took place at the APC Secretariat along Oron Road in Eket was like a jamboree causing gridlock as hundreds of vehicles lined both sides of the road from Uqua junction to Mobil Airstrip, making vehicular movement nearly impossible.

In his declaration, Etukakpan from Ward 4 Urban Eket, said he was sick of battling to save the PDP he co-founded when it was obvious that the former ruling party was sinking.

According to him, as an elder of the PDP since the year 1998, and Secretary of Eket chapter of Elders’ Forum of the party, he had done everything humanly possible to re-direct the party to its original ideology of internal democracy but to no avail.

“I have worked for the party for the past 18 years without any dividend of democracy for myself and my followers, of over 500 of them who you can now see here.

“They are decamping to the APC with my support because they too have realised that PDP has failed them and as expected, they cannot remain in such a failed party where impunity and selfishness reign supreme.”

Etukakpan said he has contributed in no small measure to the growth of PDP in the state, revealing that the party was hijacked some years back by “hawks” who knew nothing about democracy but impunity.

He insisted that the party would not have failed if the “hawks” had allowed the people and founding fathers to manage it democratically.

Etukakpan pledged to work for the growth of APC in the state to keep its ideology and ensure all his supporters of over 5,000 decamped to APC in order to assist the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari revamp an economy that was bastardised and ruined by the “hawks.”

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