PDP will perform very well in 2015 – Akpabio

Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and Chairman
of PDP Governors Forum said PDP would perform
very well in the 2015 general elections in spite of
current crises facing it.

Akpabio made this remark after visiting Gov.
Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State in Gombe on
Thursday.
He said PDP was a robust and national party which
had the capacity to come out of the crises stronger.
On the defection of five PDP governors to APC, he
said some of the Deputy Governors and party
supporters did not defect with their governors.
“PDP is very robust. It is such a large party. It is a
national party and has presence in the 774 Local
Government Areas of the country.
“Nigerians know that PDP is the only national party,
it is the only party that is not owned by any
individual, and it is the only party that is not owned
by any tribal group or godfather.
“So, I can see the PDP doing very well in 2015 as
soon as some of the problems are over; these are
just internal challenges that the PDP is working on”,
he said.
On reconciliation in PDP, he said it was good for
people to be given the opportunity to express
themselves.
He said Dankwambo had assured him that Gombe
remained a PDP state.
Akpabio said the achievements recorded by
Dankwambo and other PDP states would reflect in
the general elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Akpabio
had during the visit, called for religious and ethnic
tolerance in the country to ensure development.
He commended the governor for ensuring cordial
existence and religious tolerance in the state which
he said accounted for the development strides
recorded in two and half years.
The governor urged other states to emulate the
government and people of Gombe state in ensuring
peace, security and harmony.
“When you have harmony and peace, you will have
development and that is why the resources you put
in there will show.”
He said he had deliberately implemented policies
that gave sense of belonging to Muslims in Akwa
Ibom by sponsoring some of them for pilgrimage to
Saudi Arabia and assisted them financially.
Akpabio condoled with Dankwambo on the death of
his father-in-law, Alhaji Inuwa Gombe.
In his response, Dankwambo said he had ensured
financial prudence in the monthly N2.3 billion
allocation to the state after spending N1.5 billion on
salaries.
According to him, he has constructed over 638 km
of roads, constructed and rehabilitated schools,
provided water and many other developmental
projects.
NAN reports that the governors had held a meeting
for more than one hour.