THE Akwa Ibom State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party on Monday dismissed claims that Governor Udom Emmanuel was planning to defect to the All Progressive Congress, saying people were using it to draw attention to themselves.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President, Maj. Gen. Mohammadu Buhari (retd.), on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Enang, while speaking on Inspiration FM in Uyo, the state capital, claimed that the governor was making subtle moves to join the APC.

Enang, who cited the governor’s recent romance with APC stakeholders, including Vice- President Yemi Osinbajo and Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawan, who were in the state for projects inauguration, concluded that “Udom Emmanuel is now a member of the APC”.

But reacting to Enang’s claim in an interview with our correspondent on Monday, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Borono Bassey, said he was not surprised at the rumours, adding that APC was always struggling to have a performing governor like Udom Emmanuel in order to validate it failure in the state

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He said, “The truth is that the governor has said it over and over again, and as a part, we have made releases that the governor is not going anywhere. I like to think that people just want to draw attention to themselves because they know that people will be interested in hearing about this.”

Also, a group, the Akwa Ibom Integrity Alliance, has carpeted Enang over what it described as an infantile outburst against the governor.

The group, in a statement in Uyo endorsed by its Convener, Faith Mboho, described the President’s aide as a man known to suffer from “diarrhoea of the mouth”.

According to Mboho, this has often led Senator Enang to childishly peddle falsehood, such as the speculation that the governor was defecting to APC simply because he brought Vice-President Osinbajo and Senate President Ahmad Lawan to inaugurate some of his projects.

“Let us state here unequivocally that Governor Udom Emmanuel will never, never join the APC; he has never entertained such thoughts.”