PDP Crisis: Storm in a tea cup - Akpabio

Source: pointblanknews.com

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio has described the
current crisis rocking the ruling party as a storm in a tea cup which
would soon be resolved. He added that the party would not break up during
the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Chief Akpabio who is also the Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party
Governors' Forum, stated this in his remarks at the party's
post-convention dinner at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The Akwa Ibom State Governor who affirmed the support and loyalty of his
fellow PDP governors to the President and the party said the party would
not shut its door against anyone but would not stop anyone who wished to
defect to another party.

According to Chief Akpabio: 'We just want to inform you that there is no
faction in the PDP. What you are witnessing today is just a storm inside
the tea cup and I know that you don't want to push the tea cup instead you
want to pull the tea cup and that is why you are embarking on the process
of reconciliation.

'We want to assure you that there is no shaking as far as the PDP is
concerned. If you look at the hall here you will see that there are 17 PDP
governors. How many are we? We are 23, so if you have four or five PDP
governors who are not here that does not mean that their supporters are
behind them.

'If there is anybody who wishes to go to any political party he is free to
do so. I think this is the only political party that admits people who
have gone and come back. We took a statistics and we found out that
sometimes it is good you step out there gain experience, come back and
become a national chairman of the party.

'Not all the PDP governors are aggrieved, and if there is anybody that is
aggrieved, the president has set up a robust committee to ensure
reconciliation. We are all solidly behind you and behind the party and
very interested in receiving our colleagues back,' he said.

Chief Akpabio listed the achievement of the Jonathan administration to
include increased oil production which has boosted revenue of the states
and the disappearance of queues at petrol stations and called on Nigerians
to support the transformation agenda of the President.

'Nigeria has faced challenges in the past, Nigeria never broke up. Nigeria
will not break up under President Jonathan; the PDP will not break up
under his administration. When you talk about Nigeria, you talk about PDP
and PDP is Nigeria. That is why I am saying Nigeria will not break up,' he
said.