Despite denials, uncertainty trails resignation story of A/Ibom dep gov

The Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Moses Ekpo, has described reports in a section of the media as malicious.

The deputy governor, who was reacting to media stories on Monday, that he had stepped down from his position, said he has no reason to leave a government that is performing optimally or the Peoples Democratic (PDP).

Ekpo was reported by some media platforms on Monday to have resigned his position as deputy governor and that he has dumped PDP for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The report was predicated on a tweet by a media arm of the APC, @APC Newspaper, which said Ekpo has joined a former governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio to defect to the APC.

The governor is believed to be an ally of Akpabio, who is expected to formally defect on Thursday in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.

Read also: FALANA TO APC SENATORS: Your ‘planned removal of Saraki cannot stand’

However, Ekpo denied the reports in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ekikere Umoh, describing it as malicious and misleading, adding that he has not resigned, and that he has no reason whatsoever to resign or jump ship from a government that is both responsive and performing optimally.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Office of the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State has been drawn to certain rumours and misrepresentations in a section of the media to the effect that the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Moses Ekpo, (MFR) has resigned from office.

“The reports particularly from the online community further make allusions to the effect that the Deputy Governor has also defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

“Given the temperament of the times and the implications of such innuendos, we are constrained to categorically state that, there is no iota of truth in the story making the rounds.The purported report is therefore nothing but a poorly concocted piece of a malicious hatchet job and a pack of lies, and should be appropriately ignored.

“It is instructive to note that currently, His Excellency, the Deputy Governor is representing the State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel as Special Guest of Honour at the 2018 International Convention of Ati Annang holding in New York, United States of America, and is yet to return to the state”

I’m spite of Ekpo’s denial, many political watchers are of the opinion that his words need to be taken with a pinch of salt, given developments in the polity over the last few days.

They predicate their argument on the recent defection and resignation of the deputy governor of Kano State, Prof. Prof Hafiz Abubakar.

Abubakar, a loyalist of former Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso was also initially rumoured to have resigned from his post and dumped the APC, for the PDP, but he denied it.

The rumours however turned out to be true, as he later resigned, over what he termed irreconcilable differences.

 

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