Senator Godswill Akpabio has been tipped as the most deserving candidate for the leadership of the 10th Senate due to his governance experience, political skills, and the remarkable contributions of the South-South region to the victory of the APC in the last presidential election.
He received the nod from Prince Kassim Afegbua, a former Information Commissioner in Edo State, who described him as a cerebral leader with the maturity and requisite skills to complement the Tinubu’s presidency and spearhead robust engagements and policy-making crucial to national wellbeing.
“Senator Akpabio fits the bill. He stepped down for the APC presidential candidate during the primaries, delivered a very powerful speech and directed his delegates to vote for Senator Bola Tinubu,” Afegbua said.
“He also delivered over 120,000 thousand votes in Akwa Ibom, knowing that is the state of the Chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council. He is a likeable personality who is easily and fondly called uncommon transformer both as Governor of Akwa Ibom and Honourable Minister of the Federal Republic.”
“He transformed Akwa Ibom State from a typical rural community to an urban community with gigantic infrastructure across the state. You may not like Senator Akpabio, but you can’t fault his achievements even as a Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs.”
“He was able to complete the 30 years old, abandoned NDDC Headquarters started by Chief Horsfall in 1993, within two years and relocated the NDDC there. He was able to construct roads, build Police Barracks, provide several other infrastructure. He carried out a forensic audit of the NDDC despite cries of acrimony, but he insisted that the right things must be done.”
“Go to Akwa Ibom today and see his huge infrastructural renewal. Someone like that deserves more recognition and being a Senate President will afford him the opportunity to constructively engage with the President.”
“He has network of influence across the country, has impacted on so many people across board and always ready to shoulder responsibilities with equanimity of purpose.”
When asked about the chances of the South-East in line with the demand for equity and geo-political balance, Afegbua explained that ceding the Senate Presidency to the South-South would be the fairest decision considering the region’s strategic importance to the country’s economy and its peoples’ allegiance to the APC, unlike the South-East.
“I think it will be more equitable to have the position zoned to the South-south, first as the treasure base of the nation that must be consciously and deliberately pacified at all times. Second as a way of compensating them for breaking into the stronghold of the opposition PDP and making a good showing in the elections.”
“In the South-east, the APC senators worked for their own election and conspiratorially abandoned their presidential candidate. How can they score so high in their own votes, and score so abysmally low in that of the presidential candidate, in an election that was conducted same time, same hour and simultaneously. There must be a deliberate conspiracy, and you cannot reward such conspiracy in the name of trying to balance geopolitical inclusion.”
