By Michael Agbaji
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswll Akpabio has called on members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South South zone to continue to lend their support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to achieve his Renewed Hope agenda.
Senator Akpabio made the call at the South South APC National Executive Committee meeting in Calabar, Cross River State on Sunday. The stakeholders’ meeting witnessed a large turn out of members from the six States in the region.
A statement by the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Media/Communication, Anietie Ekong quoted Senator Akpabio to have urged party members to show more commitment in their support for the party and President Tinubu.
According to Senator Akpabio who paid special tribute to the former Senate President, Dr Joseph Wayas, the South South was strategically positioned in the national scheme of things after 45 years of having held the position of the Senate President in the Second Republic.
“We need to be focused and aim at one vision and when we have that in mind we shall succeed. Here is the South South zone, sitting together. Every section is represented and nobody is left behind and we have to work in the same spirit.
“President Tinubu has assured us that he will never forget the South South region. That is why we have to continue to support the administration to succeed because if he succeeds, we all succeed together. For we lawmakers we were not elected to go to Abuja and fight but to bring the dividends of democracy to our people.
“The votes that the President obtained in the Presidential election from my Senatorial District alone was more than the votes he garnered in the entire five States of the South East zone combined together.
“From this zone, five states out of six were able to contribute more than 25 percent of the votes during the Presidential election of 2023 for President Tinubu. Don’t take this for granted because our party was not the dominant party in the zone before the election.
“That shows that if you are committed you can turn things around in your Senatorial District and your Federal constituency and your Local Givernment Area. With struggle we can reach our destination. And that is the reason why we are gathered here today,” he said.
Senator Akpabio urged the stakeholders to gear up for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State and implored the party to work hard to win the election so that the South South APC can add another State to Cross River State in the zone.
The Governor of Cross River State and the Coordinator of the APC in the zone, Senator Bassey Otu said the South South APC must work hard to increase the strength of the party in the zone.
“As a person this meeting means a lot to me because the Almighty God detests loneliness. He said it is not good for the man to be alone. I read the President’s lips. He said it is not good for Governor Otu to be alone in the South South region. We are here to turn this into reality,” he said.
Governor Otu thanked the President for the ground breaking of the Lagos- Calabar coastal highway and said the zone will continue to support the President to achieve great successes in his administration’s developmental initiatives
Earlier, in his welcome remarks, the South South Zonal Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Giadom, thanked party stakeholders for their unwavering support for the party. He thanked the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio for his physical presence at the meeting, describing him as “a lover of the South South and unifier of the nation.
“Let me on behalf of the zonal leadership, thank the members of the 10th Senate and President Bola Tinubu, for their confidence in our own, Senator Akpabio for the office of the President of the Senate. There couldn’t have been a better choice for the position,” he said.
