Ahead of 2023 general and Presidential elections, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC has not relented in its efforts at dragging Governors of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to dump their parties and join it.
The very fresh one is that the APC has beamed its searchlight on the Akwa Ibom State Governor,
Udom Emmanuel, as the of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan has tacitly extended an invitation to the Governor, saying the ruling APC and members of the party are waiting anxiously for him to work with them.
Lawan who is asking the Akwa Ibom state Governor to shift base politically, spoke at Uyo, the state capital weekend at the instance of his colleague and Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), PDP, Akwa Ibom North East.
The President of the Senate showered encomiums on Emmanuel for being a performing Governor and publicly told him to consider crossing over to their side.
While Lawan is of the ruling APC, Emmanuel is of the opposition PDP, but the duo has been friends for quite some time.
Recall that Lawan extended a similar invitation to the Abia State Governor when he visited Aba last November and told Governor Okezie Victor Ikpeazu that the Progressives were waiting for him.
Both the Senate President and Akwa Ibom State Governor were in attendance at the Thanksgiving Service and Commissioning of constituency projects executed by Senator Akpan on Saturday.
It was an opportunity for Lawan to congratulate the people of Akwa Ibom for being lucky to have Udom Emmanuel as their Governor.
Lawan said, “You have a Governor who is so focused, intelligent, brilliant and anything that will bring development to Akwa Ibom and this country is his concern.
“Your Excellency, even though we do not share a common platform the truth must be said: You have transformed Akwa Ibom for the best.
“We are waiting for you to come and work with us, Your Excellency. Oh yes! Why not? We want someone to like you. And there is no shame in asking.
“We are asking for the development, unity, progress and growth of our country. It doesn’t matter who that person is.
“And when you see something that is so good, you say something that is also good. And we have seen someone that is so good, so brilliant and we are saying that is a very good addition to the leadership quest for Nigeria.”
The projects that were commissioned on Saturday include Ifa Ikot Akpan road, Uyo and Senator OBA Multipurpose Recreational Complex in Uyo.
In a statement, yesterday by his Special Adviser, Media, Ola Awoniyi, the President of the Senate while speaking on Senator Akpan, said that with the Senator, he has got a salvation of some of his promises.
Lawan eulogized the Akwa Ibom Northeast Senator Bassey Albert Akpan for providing quality representation of his people at the National Assembly.
The President of the Senate who noted that the projects were indicative of Senator Akpan’s care for his people, said, “For us as members of the National Assembly, it’s always our people first. Our constituents first. Our Senatorial District first.
“This is because we believe that we are accountable to our Senatorial District. We are accountable to our people. We cannot do without our people. They voted for us. All the three Senators from Akwa Ibom are Distinguished people.”
The Senate President said Senator Akpan who is of the People’s Democratic Party( PDP) never allowed his political affiliation to affect his patriotic contributions at the Senate.
Lawan said, “Today we are celebrating one individual who we do not share a common platform when it comes to politics but we share a common vision.
“We believe that this Ninth National Assembly particularly the Senate has done so much work in terms of legislative interventions and for your information Your Excellency, when the Senate worked on the bill to amend the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract Act, that bill was by Distinguished Senator Bassey Albert Akpan.
“You have sent someone to the National Assembly who is focused, who is patriotic, who plays the game of ensuring that regardless of who we are as politicians, regardless of our dispositions politically, regardless of our political parties, we have been working with Distinguished Senator Bassey Albert Akpan very assiduously and cooperatively. In this Senator, you have the salvation of some of your promises.”