Senate Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio yesterday resigned his position. The Akwa Ibom Northwest senator communicated his resignation to Senate President Bukola Saraki in a letter dated August 4th, 2018.
The letter, entitled “Resignation as Senate Minority Leader”, was signed by Akpabio himself and addressed to the Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha.
It reads: “May I extend to you and my dear colleagues in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senate Caucus of the 8th Senate of the Federal Repubic of Nigeria the compliments and best wishes of my constituents and I.
“This letter is to formally inform you of my resignation as the Senate Minority Leader with effect from August 4, 2018.
“Let me thank the Senate Minority leadership, our distinguished colleagues and our great party, the PDP for the opportunity to lead the caucus in the last three years.”
Apart from Saraki and Bwacha, Deputy Senate President, Senate Leader, Minority Whip, Deputy Minority Whip, all senators, Clerk of the Senate, Clerk of the National Assembly and PDP national chairman got copies of the letter.
Senator Akpabio yesterday arrived in Uyo ahead of his officiola receorion into the APC yesterday.
A large crowd of both PDP and APC supporters were at the Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo, singing and dancing to welcome him back home.
“The crowd was something else, very unprecedented,” a former aide of the senator said.
According to online newspaper Premium Times, two commissioners serving under Governor Udom Emmanuel – the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Victor Antai, and the Commissioner for Labour, Productivity and Manpower Planning, Ibanga Akpabio, were at the airport to receive him.
Two House of Representatives members, Emmanuel Ekon (Abak federal constituency), and Emmanuel Akpan (Ikot Ekpene federal constituency) were also among those who received Mr Akpabio.
State lawmaker Nse Ntuen, representing Essien Udim, and Deputy State Chairman of PDP Michael Afangideh was also at the airport to receive the senator.
A former commissioner for works, Don Etim, was there too.
The senator, while driving in a motorcade from Uyo, through Ikot Ekpene, to his hometown in Essien Udim, made stopovers at some road intersections across the state to wave at jubilant crowd which gathered to welcome him.
He spoke with reporters at the airport, giving them a clue to what may have prompted his decision to leave the PDP.
He reportedly said that he had served the PDP faithfully and loyally and had helped build the party but that the party has chosen to reward those who had previously abandoned it when it mattered most.
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