LBy Sunday Adebayo
Godswill Akpabio. a former governor of Akwa-Ibom state and immediate past minister of Niger Delta Affairs has been flown out of the country for purported medical treatment, an action viewed by many concerned Nigerians as an attempt to evade EFCC invitation for on Tuesday 9th.
Akpabio who resigned from the Senate to take up ministerial appointment recently won election to return to the senate. He has since then not hidden his ambition to become the senate president. He has gone round the country canvassing for votes amongst critical stakeholders who have a say on who becomes the senate president.
He has met with the president-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu for the same reason.
Akpabio’s ambition to become senate president was recently thrown a spanner when the seating senate president, Senator Ahmed Lawal and a group of senators met with the president -elect to voice their opposition to Akpabio’s ambition.
Akpabio had while he was a minister held the entire senate in utter contempt when he was requested to appear and furnish the House with update of his ministry. This did not go well with majority of the senators who are now taken aback with Akpabio’s ambition to head an institution he disrepute…
Another headache of Akpabio in his quest to be senate president is the recent invitation extended to him by the anti-graft agency, EFCC to appear before her officials on Tuesday 9th to answer questions arising from his past stewardship. Akpabio’s tenure at the Niger Delta ministry was characterized with various controversies and other issues of financial misappropriation and embezzlement. These twin actions of Ahmed LAWAL’s move and EFCC invitation have unsettled Akpabio and his group.
He discovered that honoring the EFCC invitation would raise a lot of dust in the issues at stake before the agency against him. It was considered by him and his group for him to feign illness and be flown abroad this time as a cover to avoid looming embarrassment from the EFCC.
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Since Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu won election as president -elect,he has made it clear he is not ready to work with people who have skeleton in their cupboards and whose past is riddled with controversies, particularly bordering on corruption issues.
Just recently, Akpabio who has been running to and fro all corners for his ambition rail-roaded Ganduje, the governor of Kano state for a meeting in Calabar. He knows the Kano Governor is well respected in the APC circles. Gahduje who was not well briefed of the purpose of the meeting, to his surprise was prevailed upon to declare support for Akpabio’s senate president quest. His declaration of support for Akpabio caused some crisis at the leadership level of the APC but he was cleared when it became apparent that Gahduje took that action for his personal safety.
The former governor of Akwa-Ibom state presently looks confused and lacks tact to proceed with his ambition.
The seat of the senate president has been zoned by the APC to the Southern region of Nigeria and a lot of senators outside Akpabio have shown interest for the plumb job. Other contenders for the job have conducted their campaigns with much decorum and decency. Nigerians are waiting to see who clinches the number three seat in Nigeria.