Senate President Godswill Akpabio has denied ever being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite previously holding political positions under the party.
Akpabio made the remark during Tuesday’s plenary while the Senate considered a motion to honour the late former Kogi State Governor, Ibrahim Idris.
The motion was sponsored by Senator Jibrin Isah, representing Kogi East.
While presenting the motion, Isah recalled that Idris was a PDP member and told Akpabio that they had all belonged to the party at the time.
“The late Ibrahim Idris was a member of the PDP; I was there while you were there too, all of us were there,” Isah said.
However, Akpabio interrupted him and rejected the assertion that he was ever a PDP member.
“I was never in PDP. My spirit might be there, but my heart was never there. I have always been a progressive,” the Senate President said.
Akpabio served as governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015 and was chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum during his tenure.
He was elected to the Senate in 2015 on the PDP platform and served as Senate Minority Leader between 2015 and 2018. He later defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2018.
The Senate subsequently adopted the motion and observed a minute’s silence in honour of the late former governor.
