Events Likely To Haunt Senator Akpabio

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Senator Godswill Akpabio

Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio , a Nigerian lawyer and politician and currently Nigeria’s Senate President can be counted as one of the luckiest politicians of our time. A number of reasons can be put forward to depend this assertion. He was born on December 9, 1962.

In 2002, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Governor Obong Victor Attah of Akwa Ibom State appointed Akpabio as Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources. By sheer political dexterity and scheming, Akpabio succeeded Attah as Governor of the state in 2007 and served for two terms that ended in 2015.

As is the normal, Akpabio got elected into the Senate under the ticket of PDP to represent his Akwa Ibom North West constituency in 2015 on the ticket of All Progressives Congress, APC.

After winning his second term in office in 2019, President Buhari in consideration of Akpabio’s support as a senator of the federal Republic in the red chamber, appointed him as Minister and assigned the well funded Niger Delta Affairs Ministry as his portfolio.

Again, Akpabio by ‘dint of hard work’ returned to the senate in 2023 and did everything possible to get elected as the 10th Senate’s President.

Regretably, however some events that are likely haunting and consequently threatening the political career of Senate President Akpabio will continue to rear their ugly heads as long as they’re yet to be resolved fairly and justly in his favour.

Indications are that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC is not sleeping over very weighty allegations of fraud and embezzlement to the tune of N108bn hanging on his neck during his tenure as Governor between 2007 and 2015.

Already, the anti-graft agency had written to five banks demanding information on Akwa Ibom State finances under Akpabio’s administration.

Senator Akpabio’s tenure as Minister of Niger Delta Afairs was also dogged with allegations of interference, looting, favouritism and sexual harassment.

Ms Joy Nunieh, former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC was reported to admitting that “I slappped Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta affairs, for sexually harassing me”

Speaking recently on Arise TV, Nunieh said the incident happened at the minister’s guest house in Abuja.

The former NDDC MD also accused Akpabio of trying to inflate the NDDC budget and directed her to include some projects from the refugee commission in the budget of the NDDC.

Nunieh and Akpabio have made allegations against each other following the activities of the senate ad hoc panel investigating the alleged mismanagement of N40 billion by the interim management committee, IMC of the NDDC.

It’s commonly believed that such weighty and damning allegations must not be swept under the carpet by EFCC and ICPC. After all, the Senate President does not enjoy immunity as we saw in the case of a former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki.

In its back page opinion piece of November 8, 2019 in Thisdaylive.com titled:

The Paradox in Akpabio’s Anti-Corruption Crusade, said: “Akpabio as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, is now waging a war on corruption and he is speaking out loudly and acting forcefully like a man driven by conviction.”

“Akpabio is now championing the war on corruption? His spell as governor of Akwa Ibom State, under the moniker of Uncommon Transformation, was driven by the underlining crude philosophy of ‘what money cannot buy, more money can buy it’.

Thisdaylive opinion piece added: “Akpabio is not a man of ideas, neither is he one to embrace the niceties of democratic norms because respect for due process and the rule of law – the core values of democracy – are not part of his forte”.

In a most dramatic change of conviction and loyalty, just recently, Akpabio, presiding one of the senate sessions, denied knowledge of how the N23trillion ‘ways and means’ strategy of the PMB adminstration secured an approval in the 9th Senate that he was part of.

Akpadio has a habit of biting fingers that fed him. One hopes that this time around the fingers of those who fed him can be saved from his teeth.

These and many more are some of the issues that may haunt Akpabio now or in the future.

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