Former  governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio yesterday alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) led federal government never constructed any road in Akwa Ibom State in 16 years. This is just as he declared that the APC would record landslide victory in the 2019 general elections in the state.

Speaking to State House correspondents  after he led an Akwa Ibom delegation to the Presidential Villa to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari,  he disclosed that his heart was with the President in the 2015 election despite the fact he was a member of  PDP. Akpabio who recently defected to the APC noted that already what remained of the PDP in the state was mere carcass as the body and soul of the party had joined the APC. According to him, over 266,000 new members have registered with the APC after he and some other people dumped the PDP.

He said,  “I believe strongly that the fact speaks for itself. For the calibre of personages you saw today, the strength of the delegation and the character of the delegation, the capacities and the personalities that you have witnessed is very clear that President Muhammadu Buhari will win Akwa Ibom State come 2019 general elections with landslide. “I can predict that the first state in Nigeria to fall to the APC in 2019 presidential election is Akwa Ibom State, no one can controvert this l still speak with authority because I have my people’s backing to pronounce what I have just pronounced, victory is for APC and victory is for Mr. President come 2019 in Akwa Ibom State.”

On whether he was satisfied with the appointments by the Buhari’s government when it comes to South South and Akwa Ibom State, he said “Well being a new person in the APC federal government, it will be wrong for me to dabble into issues of appointment but if you were to ask me appointment in the Presidency from 1999 to 2015 and even 2017 in those days I could say something but right now, I just come into APC and my focus is to ensure that APC remains here in the hilltop mansion, of course in the Villa in 2019.

“I am assuring you that we are not only going to win, the President will also win Akwa Ibom State.”

Also asked if the President was doing well in Akwa Ibom State in infrastructural development, the former Akwa Ibom State governor said that the state has fared well under the APC government. He said, “You need to know that I was governor of Akwa Ibom State for eight years and in the eight years of being a governor I cannot remember when there was one kilometre of road that was done by the federal government in my state, that is the first thing.

“The second aspect of it is that in terms of appointment, Akwa Ibom people have never faired this well since 1999 even under the PDP administration. I am beginning to think that the reason why we were not even given enough appointments under the PDP administration was because they took for granted that Akwa Ibom was a PDP state.

“But this President went out of his way to give a lot of our children the opportunity to have sensitive appointments at the federal level and we are very grateful. “I know that there was a time when I was governor, we had just a minister of state for many years and today we have a full-fledged Minister of Budget and National Planning as well as other appointments. So we are very satisfied and we believe strongly that we have to reciprocate this gesture by voting solidly for Mr. President.”

He also clarified on his earlier statement  that in 2015 his soul was  with President Buhari. He said, “In 2015 we had a son of the Niger Delta, former President Goodluck Jonathan contesting the election and I was also a chieftain of the PDP. I was also the chairman of PDP Governors Forum so in spite of the fact that I believe strongly that the current President needed to be supported there was no way I could play anti-party activity in 2015 so I voted for PDP. Leadership