Natasha: I won’t join APC despite being persuaded by Presidency

The senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has said she will not defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) despite repeated overtures from individuals linked to the Presidency and some of her colleagues.

Akpoti-Uduaghan stated this during an interview on the Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, where she dismissed speculation about a possible move to the APC amid the internal crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Asked whether joining the APC was an option should the situation in the PDP worsen, the senator responded in the negative, stressing her resolve to remain with her current party.

“No, I wouldn’t. I was in APC briefly at the start of everything. Why should I go and join APC? I don’t have to follow the bandwagon. I don’t have to succumb to threats or fall for cajolery,” she said.

She disclosed that she had been approached on several occasions by different actors encouraging her to defect to the ruling party.

“I have been approached many times. I have been approached by people from the Presidency, even by my colleagues. As recently as yesterday, one of them jokingly said, ‘We’re still expecting you, we would love to have you.’

“And I told him, I love my space, I love my peace here. I’m okay with my party for now, so I don’t think I have to join the APC,” she said.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, a first-term senator in the 10th National Assembly, also spoke on her political future, saying discussions were ongoing about a possible re-election bid, though no final decision had been taken.

“Yes, the conversation is ongoing, but it is not certain yet,” she said.

Reacting to speculations that the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, may contest for the Kogi Central senatorial seat in 2027, the lawmaker said she was not intimidated by the prospect.

“If by any chance I make up my mind after due consultations with my family, my constituents and my political party, and I am on the ballot against former Governor Yahaya Bello in 2027, then I would say, bring it on,” she said.

“I am not scared of Yahaya Bello. I am his nightmare. He was a sitting governor and wielded all the powers at his disposal against me, yet I defeated his candidate in 2023.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan and Bello hail from the same senatorial district. She won the Kogi Central seat in 2023 on the platform of the PDP after challenging the initial declaration of APC candidate Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere as winner.

Following her petition, the election petition tribunal sitting in Lokoja, in September, nullified Ohere’s victory and declared Akpoti-Uduaghan the duly elected senator with 54,074 votes, ahead of Ohere’s 51,291 votes.

While reaffirming her preference to remain in the PDP, the senator noted that unresolved leadership challenges within the party could force her to explore other options.

“If I decide to contest in 2027 and the PDP has not resolved its crisis, I need just one month to choose a platform of my choice, and my people will move with me,” she said.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, however, maintained that for now, she remains committed to the PDP and has no plans to join the APC.

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