Akpabio faces more opposition as more lawmakers-elect withdraw support

Godswill Akpabio, the consensus candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for the seat of Senate President, has continued to face opposition from within the party as the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly draws closer. This opposition comes as the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly draws closer.

Since the APC National Working Committee (NWC) announced him and Barau Jibrin as the party’s consensus candidates for the seat of Senate President and Deputy respectively a month ago, the two of them have been met with a variety of opposition from various members of the party. Barau Jibrin is the candidate for the seat of Senate President.

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According to what Naia News has been told, Akpabio’s camp has suffered yet another defeat just days before the 10th National Assembly is scheduled to take office. This is due to the fact that even senators-elect who had been backing him up until this point have continued to distance themselves from him.
A senator-elect who confirmed the withdrawal of support for Akpabio questioned how the former governor of Akwa Ibom State can lead the National Assembly, which he despised when he was the Minister of the Niger Delta. Akpabio’s support had been withdrawn earlier this week.

The newly elected senator disclosed to the Daily Sun, “I have decided to withdraw my support for Senator Akpabio.” It’s not just me, either. The fact that many of us have withdrawn our support will be reflected in the standings.

I used to hold Senator Akpabio in very high regard as a person; however, I cannot support him in his bid to become the President of the Senate.

The Senator-elect posed the question, “How can he (Akpabio) come and preside over an institution which he once described as a cesspit of corruption after benefitting from the same institution?” Akpabio has previously described the institution in question as a cesspit of corruption.

In a similar vein, Sumaila Kawu, who will be the next Senator for Kano State, has cautioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to meddle in the process of electing the presiding officers of the two chambers of the 10th National Assembly.

According to him, “The constitution is very clear about how the President of the Senate and the Deputy President of the Senate are to be elected.” For example, the criteria and procedures for selecting Presiding Officers of the Senate are outlined in Chapter 2 of the 9th Standing Orders of the Senate 2022 (as amended).

“Similarly, Section 50(1)a of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) states that, “there shall be a President and Deputy President of the Senate, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.

In addition, subsection (b) of section 50 states: “There shall be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.

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“It is therefore clear that the election of these Presiding Officers is a purely internal affair that concerns only members of the National Assembly. As a result, they should be allowed to decide who among them would occupy the positions in order to avoid repetition of the past mistakes – we may all recall the occurrences of the 7th and 8th National Assembly,” he said. “It is therefore clear that the election of these Presiding Officers is a pure internal affair that concerns only members of the National Assembly.”