Defection: Akpabio meets Tinubu in Abuja

The Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, who is defecting from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is back in Nigeria after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari in London.
On Monday, Mr. Akpabio met influential party chieftain, Bola Tinubu, in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Mr. Tinubu’s spokesperson, Tunde Rahman, later sent photographs of the meeting to media houses.
Details of the discussions between the two men were not disclosed.
Mr. Akpabio, who represents Akwa Ibom North West District in the Senate, is a former governor of Akwa Ibom.
Although disliked by some people because of his ruthless brand of politics, Mr. Akpabio is widely respected as one of the most influential politicians in Akwa Ibom and Nigeria’s South-South region.
He handpicked Udom Emmanuel, a former executive director in Zenith Bank, appointed him Secretary to the State Government (SSG), groomed, and later installed him as governor of Akwa Ibom in 2015, despite opposition within his party, the PDP.
He is also responsible for the election and appointment of several people in the state into public offices at state and national levels.