Godswill Akpabio, former minority leader of the senate, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Akpabio joined the party at a rally which held at the Ikot Ekpene township stadium in Akwa Ibom  on Wednesday.

He also dismissed the reports that he moved to the APC because of the fear of being witch-hunted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“Some people are saying I moved to APC because a gun was pointed on my head. A young man wrote a petition against me and the petition was filled with lies… I have never been charged to court… The EFCC did not find anything on me,” he said.

“For those who said I am a traitor, I will never be a traitor. Those who are ganging up to stop the government of the day, we won’t see election if we follow them. We won’t see February 2019.”

He said his entry into the ruling party signals the end of the PDP in not just Akwa Ibom but the Niger Delta.

Akpabio said he joined the APC to move Nigeria forward under President Muhammadu Buhari.

“Our people should be part and parcel of Nigeria. We don’t believe in segregation. The region as a minority cannot stand on its own,” he said.

“The south-south having the major resources of this country should also partake in the sharing of the resources. What I have done today is to take the people of the south-south to the centre; to link Akwa Ibom to the centre.

“As I speak to you now, those who are from the national assembly are all here. Thousands of you all were in PDP yesterday, are you not in APC today? I accept this broom to sweep away poverty form your life.”