Akpabio: PDP’ll win 90% as APC now in disarray

Godswill Akpabio, governor of Akwa Ibom state, says the All Progressive Congress (APC), is in disarray and that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would score 90% in the 2015 polls.

He also said the PDP was ready to engage the opposition party in an issue-based debate ‎”whenever they are ready to do so”.

Akpabio, who is the chairman of the PDP governors’ forum, was speaking to journalists at the state house after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday.

He said: “‎It is very clear now that the opposition is in disarray. I am sure you have all seen that. Propaganda can only take you up to a limit after which the reality becomes the norm.

“Today, Nigerians are much more aware of what the PDP administration under President Goodluck Jonathan has been doing. I want to commend not only the Ppresident but also members of the Federal Executive Council who have opened the eyes of Nigerians to know that so many things have been done in the different sectors of the economy.

“It was as if people did not know these things because the opposition took over and they kept saying PDP was doing nothing. Yet, in four years of the president’s tenure, he has achieved far more than any President had ever done in the history of our country.

“We are very proud of the achievements of the PDP, not just at the federal level but also at the different states. If you want to assess state-by-state, pick the opposition’s best state in Nigeria and compare it with the best state of the PDP, you will see that we tower above the opposition in all ramifications.

“The next election, particularly the elections of March 28, will be about performance and issues. Nigerians have since gone above the level of tribalism and ethnic or religion differences. God put us together in this country and he knew that we are a multiplicity of religions and tribes.

“God brought us together, so we believe in the unity and oneness of this country. The same way we came together in 2011 and voted for President Jonathan, that is the same way we are returning him based on the fact that he has performed creditably and that the PDP has discharged its responsibilities to Nigerians to the best of its ability based on available resources.

“We had to meet also with our incoming governors to also explain to them to mobilise their subjects to ensure that they collect their PVCs because every vote must count and it is important that we don’t get short-changed by the fact that we do not mobilise our people to go and pick their voters cards.”

He said the issue of reconciliation of PDP’s internal crises was discussed.

“The other issue had to do with our own internal reconciliation. After the major primaries that we had, we need to reconcile people so that everybody can move in our accord,” he said.

“I can tell Nigerians today that the party is poised for victory. The PDP is very ready to win. I am happy that the people are listening because in those days, I kept telling them that their propaganda cannot win a war. The propaganda has reached a point.

“We also discussed the opposition also and we are of the opinion that Mr. President should always be ready to go on a presidential debate whenever the need arises.

“The more we speak to Nigerians and explain the policies and our intentions, the more Nigerians will understand better.

“We are urging the opposition to agree to debate with the PDP because we will debate on issues and based on our track records.

“The meeting was just to take stock of the situation on ground and the report is very favourable. It looks like on the first ballot, we win well over 90 percent of the votes across Nigeria.”