Cross River PDP Chairman Predicts More Defections as Former UNICAL VC Dumps APC
CALABAR, The Cross River State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may be witnessing the beginning of a political resurgence as prominent figures from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) begin to jump ship. The latest defection comes from Professor Zana Akpagu, a respected academic and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar.
Akpagu’s defection, which took place in Kakum, Obudu, in the northern part of the state, has sparked renewed confidence in the PDP, with its State Chairman, Venatius Ikem, confidently predicting that “many more” political actors are poised to follow suit.
Ikem described Akpagu’s return to the PDP as highly symbolic and politically strategic. “Several stakeholders have been in consultation with me about returning to the PDP. Professor Akpagu’s defection is a signal to others that the tide is shifting,” he said.
A former special adviser and campaign director for Governor Bassey Otu during the last general election, Akpagu is not just a political heavyweight but also commands significant grassroots support, particularly among his former students and associates in Cross River North.
According to Ikem, “The northern district has always been a stronghold of the PDP. With Akpagu’s return, we are more united and formidable. The APC will find it increasingly difficult to make inroads here.”
Akpagu, in a telephone interview, struck a defiant tone, dismissing the idea that the APC’s current dominance at the federal level would pose any threat to his political relevance or that of his followers.
“The so-called might of the APC will neither deter nor debar my people from voting for me or my party. I’m not intimidated. Life is about taking calculated risks,” Akpagu declared.
His reasons for leaving the APC, despite the wave of recent defections in the opposite direction, appeared deeply personal and philosophical. Comparing himself to an orchestra conductor, he said:
“A conductor doesn’t face the audience, but his back doesn’t reduce his value or the quality of the music. I’m not a multitude person. Eagles don’t fly in flocks they soar alone. I’ve returned to PDP, my original home.”
Akpagu’s comments may resonate with many who feel disillusioned by internal divisions and growing dissatisfaction within the APC in Cross River. He also suggested that, deep down, most politicians in the region remain PDP loyalists “in spirit and in blood,” adding that only President Bola Tinubu seems to have maintained consistent party loyalty in today’s political landscape.
While critics may see Akpagu’s move as political opportunism or personal repositioning, it underscores the growing fluidity in Nigeria’s political alignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
With defections on both sides and mounting pressure on the ruling party to deliver on campaign promises, the months ahead may prove turbulent not only in Cross River but across the national political spectrum.
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Cross River PDP Chairman Predicts More Defections as Former UNICAL VC Dumps APC