A former State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State, Otoabasi Udo, has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of neglecting longstanding supporters despite their sacrifices and contributions to his political career. Mr Udo, a lawyer who served as the party’s state publicity secretary from 2021 until March 2026, made the allegations in an open letter addressed to Mr Akpabio on Monday. The letter, titled “Why Am I Forgotten & Forsaken?
An Appeal for Reward & Recognition,” was addressed to Mr Akpabio in his capacity as president of the Senate and chairman of the National Assembly. Mr Udo said he resorted to the open letter because attempts to reach the Senate president through his aides had repeatedly failed.
This development comes months after PREMIUM TIMES reported that Patty Etete, a former House of Representatives member, who represented Akpabio’s federal constituency (Ikot Ekpene/ Essien Udim/ Obot Akara Federal Constituency) and a political associate of Mr Akpabio, wrote an open letter to the Senate president expressing grievances over his treatment before subsequently resigning from the APC.
Unlike Mr Etete, however, Mr Udo’s letter does not announce his resignation from the party; rather, it focuses on what he describes as years of sacrifice without corresponding recognition or reward. Mr Udo said he joined Mr Akpabio in moving from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC when the party was still in opposition in Akwa Ibom.
He said he later became the Abak chapter coordinator of the Akwa Ibom Democratic Forum (ADF), a political platform he said played a role in building the structure that eventually became the APC in the state. According to him, supporters of Mr Akpabio were subjected to political persecution at the time because of the senator’s opposition to the state’s dominant political structure.