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From Joe Effiong and Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Ikot Ekpene
Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, yesterday, officially declared at the Ikot Ekpene township stadium, in Akwa Ibom State, his intention to contest the 2023 presidential poll under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akpabio, surrounded by his wife and party faithful across the country, said he believes in one indivisible Nigeria and that his presidency would know no tribe or colour.
The former Akwa Ibom State governor said he was fully prepared to tackle the country’s challenges given his sterling performances during his eight-year reign in the oil-rich state under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and in the Niger Delta Affairs ministry.
He said in 2007, “the Eagle landed in Akwa Ibom, and by 2015 when the eagle departed your lives were not the same again…I declare that the will of God in 2023 will be done…You have had a lot of declarations, but this one is uncommon. This is not only a message of hope but a message of positive continuity. It is also a message that the Egyptians you see today you shall see no more. This is a time for restoration.”
He said before he became minister, he never new what was going on in Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), but that under his watch, for the first time, the commission didn’t pay N300 million for rent in their office building because he provided a new headquarter building for their operations.
He said 300 roads have been commissioned by NDDC not because they had fresh funds, but because contractors for fear of the outcome of the forensic audit, went back to complete the roads.
“I am determined to make sure that Nigeria does not sink,” he said.
