Akwa Ibom PDP crisis: Cracks hit G-22 over defection to APC

Disagreement has hit the group of aggrieved aspirants in Akwa Ibom State, who  lost the last Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primaries in the state.

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Godswill Akpabio

The group, which is known as G-22, is said to have witnessed a major crack in its ranks because of mutual suspicion over the agenda of some vocal members of the group.

The Presidency had stepped in to assuage the discontent created by the outcome of the PDP primaries, the result of  which was rejected by 22 aspirants.

Sources told Vanguard that a leading member of the group, said to be close to President Goodluck Jonathan, was spearheading a peace move which has seen 17 of the aggrieved members ready to accept the result of the primary election and work with the declared winner, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, rather than decamp to the opposition party.

This is coming as women groups have declared their intention to parade the streets of Uyo naked while 22 youth groups have  threatened to dump PDP if the national leadership of the party bows to pressures and annul the election result that gave victory to Emmanuel.

The women group known as NkaUfonIban, said its members would protest half nude  should the leadership of the PDP annul the mandate given to Emmanuel as the 2015 governorship candidate of the party.

The leader of the group, Obongawan Arit Inyang, made the disclosure when she addressed members at their meeting in Uyo.

The group with membership strength of over 310,000, threatened to go half nude to protest against the ruling PDP should injustice be meted to Mr. Emmanuel.

The group promised to make sure that the ruling party was rejected if Mr. Emmanuel’s mandate was not upheld. The women described the recent moves by the aggrieved aspirants  as misguided and appealled to them to join hands with Emmanuel to move the party forward in the state.

The source said that PDP was aware that the  All Progressives Congress, APC, and its presidential flag bearer, General Mohammadu Buhari, had made promises to the embittered aspirants  but that it was in the interest of the party to pacify all the contestants, who are members of one family.

Vanguard learned  that all, except one from Eket federal constituency, had agreed to approach the winner of the primaries, Mr. Emmanuel, for discussion.

 

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Akwa Ibom PDP crisis: Cracks hit G-22 over defection to APC