Sen. Godswill Akpabio (APC-Akwa Ibom North-West) has expressed optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari will record a massive victory in Akwa Ibom State in the 2019 presidential election.

Akpabio, alongside Sen. Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), led delegation from Akwa Ibom State APC on a courtesy visit to Buhari at the presidential villa on Monday.

While fielding questions from State House Correspondents, Akpabio, said Akwa Ibom State would be the first state to fall for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.

“I believe strongly in the saying, `res ipsa loquitor’, the act speaks for itself.

“From the calibre of personages you saw here today, the strength and character of the delegation, the capacities of the personalities you saw, it is clear that President Buhari will win Akwa Ibom State come 2019 general elections.

“He will not only win, he will win with a landslide; I can predict that the first state in Nigeria to fall to the APC in 2019 presidential election in Akwa Ibom State.

“Nobody can controvert it; I say so with authority because I have the backing of my people to pronounce it – victory for APC and victory for Buhari come 2019 in Akwa Ibom State,’’ he said.

He said that he was the governor of Akwa Ibom State for eight years, and could not remember one kilometre of road that was done by the Federal Government in Akwa Ibom State.

He said that in terms of appointments, Akwa Ibom State had benefited more from Buhari’s administration than it did from 1999 to 2015 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.

Akpabio said that Akwa Ibom was always taken for a strong PDP state; hence it was taken for granted under PDP administration.

“This president went out of his way to give our children the opportunity to have very sensitive appointments at the Federal level.

“When I was a governor, we had a minister of state for many years but today we have a full-fledged Minister of Budget and National Planning and a lot of other appointments.

“We are very satisfied and we believe we have to reciprocate this gesture by voting solidly for Buhari,’’ he said. (NAN)

•President Buhari in a handshake with Senator Godswill Akpabio, during the lawmaker's visit to the president in London.

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