ABUJA, Nigeria – The nomination of Godswill Akpabio as Senate President for the 10th Assembly has met with disapproval from opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senators-elect.
Their opposition comes in response to the recent outcome of an eight-man caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress, APC, with President-elect Ahmed Bola Tinubu on Friday, May 5, 2023, in Abuja.
The announcement of the zoning of principal officers of the 10th National Assembly has triggered widespread reactions.
Akpabio, a former two-term governor of Akwa Ibom on the PDP platform, defected to the ruling APC prior to becoming the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. He is set to be deputised by Senator Jibrin Barau from Kano.
Moreover, Tajudeen Abass from Kaduna State is tipped by the APC caucus to serve as the Speaker of the lower legislative chamber, with Benjamin Kalu from Abia State as his deputy.
However, the fact that both Senator Barau and Abbas are from the North-West zone has generated concerns within the APC.
A newly elected PDP Senator from the South-South requested anonymity and told an online news platform that Akpabio is not well-regarded within the party.
“The choice of Akpabio is not acceptable to us. We are the major opposition in the 10th Senate, and the APC should listen to us. We don’t want Akpabio,” the anonymous Senator stated.
They added that only three out of the 36 PDP Senators are backing Akpabio, all from Rivers State, after Governor Nyesom Wike urged them to support him. The Senator-elect alleged that Akpabio is offering them money, but they reject it, citing his lack of principles.
“He will eventually sell out the Senate if allowed to be the Senate President,” the source claimed.
They recalled Akpabio’s defection in 2018/2019, when the PDP had honored him with the position of minority leader, only for him to leave the party for personal gains.
“We can’t trust such a person as Senate President, he is unstable,” the PDP Senator-elect from South-South concluded.
