A pro-Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, group in Akwa Ibom State, PDP Advocates for Peace and Justice, PAPA-J, has dismissed the claims that the party collapsed its structure for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state ahead of the 2027 general election.
There were reports that the PDP, alongside other opposition political platforms, endorsed the 2027 re-election bids of President Bola Tinubu, Senator Godswill Akpabio and Governor Umo Eno
Reacting, the group, in a statement endorsed by its chairman, Dr. Tom FredFish, and the secretary, Mr. Saviour Uko, said such insinuations were mere political fabrication designed to create a false impression of acceptance and popularity for the APC in the state.
”PAPA-J wishes to state categorically that no legitimate PDP structure in any Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has collapsed for the APC. The PDP remains a formidable political platform in the state, with structures, members, and supporters across the 31 Local Government Areas.
”What the APC appears to be doing is an exercise in political desperation, borrowing the name and identity of the PDP because of the party’s enduring popularity among Akwa Ibom people, in an attempt to scout for votes ahead of 2027,” the statement said.
The group stated that Akwa Ibom people are not politically naive and would not be swayed by what it described as selective political gathering, stressing that the person presented as the PDP chairman at the gathering was not recognized by the party.
”The authentic leadership of the PDP in Akwa Ibom State is represented by the distinguished Hon. (Barr.) Igwat Umoren, and genuine PDP members should not be deceived by individuals or arrangements presented as party decisions when they do not emanate from the legitimate party structure.
”It is therefore instructive for PDP members, supporters and the general public to ignore political arrangements allegedly conceived and executed in the middle of the night, particularly when such arrangements are subsequently presented as the collective position of the PDP,” the statement added.
PAPA-J challenged the APC to build its own structures and campaign on its own record rather than attempting to appropriate the identity and popularity of the PDP.