Senate President Godswill Akpabio has arrived in Jos, the Plateau State capital, to receive a number of politicians from the main opposition parties who have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Akpabio touched down at Yakubu Gowon Airport, alongside all APC Senators, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen with all APC House Members, and Progressive APC Governors.
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He was received by the state APC Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Dr Bernard Doro, and other senior party officials and key stakeholders.
He will stand in for Vice President Kashim Shettima to receive the new APC members.
Akpabio’s visit forms part of a nationwide APC initiative to consolidate the party’s influence and formally welcome prominent political figures into its ranks.
The planned reception ceremony is expected to serve as a major show of strength for the APC in Plateau State.
The event will also recognise and integrate the new members, who come from various levels of government and political structures within the state.
The wave of defections follows comments by Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who revealed he has faced intense pressure to join the APC.
He, however, reaffirmed his commitment to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), emphasising that only God and the electorate who voted for him can determine his political course.
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Earlier, the New Daily Prime reported that a source within President Bola Tinubu’s inner circle stated that the APC will control thirty of the country’s thirty-six governorships before the end of November.
