Erstwhile governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio is in hot soup as his ministerial ambition has hit the rock.

We gathered that Elders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state have declared him unfit to become a minister under the next administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Thus, the elders in a letter signed by the Executive Vice President, Dr. Asuquo Edidem Etim which they sent to President Buhari, reads in part;

“Mr. President, this second mandate affords you the opportunity to select your ministers in a manner that will ensure that they do not become liabilities to your government or dent your impeccable image. Characters with known corruption allegations or propensity for pettiness, mischief, treachery, profligacy and vendetta, should be avoided. Senator Godswill Akpabio, unfortunately, is one of such integrity deficient individuals.”

“Many had thought that his (Akpabio) joining APC would bring cool breeze of good fortunes to the party in the state, but rather his highhanded nature and disrespect for internal democracy in the party and the will of the people to choose their leaders, became a raging storm that uprooted the recognized structures of the party right from the grassroots, as he imposed party leaders from the wards and even unit levels. Leaving many party men and women very bruised, trampled and disgruntled. This sadly affected the chances of our governorship candidate, Obong Nsima Ekere.”

“Akwa Ibom has many respectable, level headed personalities that would represent the state with grace at the federal executive, just as our son, Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Economic Planning, has done creditably in the past four years. In terms of loyalty to the party and contributions to its development in the state, we have Party men including Chief Umana Umana and Senator John Udoedehe, among others who had toiled to keep the party afloat over time in the state.”

For those who don’t know, Akpabio lost his bid to return to the Senate during the recent general election. He is also a former People Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart and ex-Senate minority leader.