Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has taken on the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, describing him as the most unqualified person to judge the personality and character of the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara.
Frank said Akpabio “cannot give what he does not have”, in reaction to Akpabio’s recent tirade against Fubara.
He described Akpabio as “a Pharisee who sees the speck in another’s eyes whereas he has a log in his.”
Akpabio had while speaking as special guest of honour at a public lecture and book launch held in Port Harcourt to mark the 57th birthday anniversary of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, accused Fubara of “treachery and betrayal” against Wike.
The political activist in a statement issued in Abuja reminded Akpabio that even though the feet of birds may face the ground no matter how high they soar, character is like pregnancy which cannot be hidden forever and that a friend to a betrayal is himself a betrayer, “after all birds of the same feather flock together.”
Frank said, “The man who spoke is a known betrayer, the man who he was defending is a betrayer. So a betrayer and treacherous character is most unqualified to tag a more decent and responsible man a betrayer.
“Akpabio has betrayal in his DNA, alongside Minister Wike. Both of them have castigated the APC in the past, only to turn around to wine, dine with and praise the same party. What should we call that? Is it not strange that Akpabio has suddenly become the mouthpiece of Wike, being birds of the same feather?
“Akpabio has proved overtime that he is a Pharisee who sees the speck in another’s eyes whereas he has a log in his. Who is the betrayer? A man who insists that the the resources of Rivers State should be used for the benefit of its people and not to serve a godfather or a man who approved four budgets for the President that are running concurrently in 2024?
“Who is a betrayer? A man who is fighting to liberate Rivers state from Wike’s strangle-hold of oppression or a man who turned the 10th Senate into a rubber stamp and an extension of the executive?
“When Akpabio was elected to the Senate in 2015 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he usurped the position of minority leader from Senator James Manager who was then the most ranking Senator from the South-South against established Senate tradition despite being a rookie legislator.
“Akpabio betrayed the PDP when he defected to the APC even as minority leader in the 8th Senate. Besides, we don’t think Wike can complain of being betrayed because despite past antecedents, he is still very well in the game of betrayal by being a PDP minister in an APC administration.
“Wike betrayed PDP in cahoots with four other governors and the party lost massively in 2023. Since then he has remained incurable by ensuring that all efforts by leaders of the party to put their acts together are frustrated.
“Akpabio hates Governor Fubara because he is not used to standing for his people, when they need him the most.”
Frank, who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, called on Governor Fubara not to be distracted as Senator Akpabio is known for what he’s doing presently. He plays the politics of ’where belle face’.
He said, “Remain steadfast, Governor Fubara as God will grant you victory over your political opponents and traducers just like your recent victory at the Appeal Court restoring monthly allocations to Rivers State. The end will justify the means at the end of the day.
“We urge the public to disregard Akpabio’s baseless accusations against Governor Fubara and instead focus on the issues that matter most to the people of Rivers State.”