- Sen. Godswill Akpabio
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It is an open secret that the race for the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly is on. It is equally a national knowledge that the race is literally between the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones of the country with the two frontliners being Senators Godswill Akpabio and Orji Uzor Kalu.
Without any equivocation however, it is generally believed and accepted in the Nigerian social space that the odds are in favour of His Excellency, Sen. Goodwill Akpabio as a result of the following facts and reality of our national
politics and political configuration in Nigeria:
a. Since the beginning of current dispensation in the country in 1999, the South-South has not occupied the post of Senate President, whereas, the South-East had occupied the post severally. In this regard, late Senators Chuba Okadigbo, Evan Enwerem were the pioneers. They were followed by Senators Adolphus Wabara, Anyim Pius Anyim and Ken Nnamani. Incredibly, all the five states of the South-East has produced one Senate President each in the current political dispensation which began just 24 years ago in 1999!
b. Of course, a fact of this South-East domination of the Senate Presidency at this historical time, which must not be forgotten and, which, indeed, visibly counts against the geopolitical zone in the current political situation regarding the next Senate President, is that the region was controlled by the ruling PDP and its electoral contributions to the party’s electoral victories in the federal and local elections at the time, were remarkably maximal.
c. In similar fashion which, of course, is another historical fact of our nation’s politics is that out of the 14 Senate Presidents the country has produced since independence in 1960, half of them, that is seven (7); have come from the South-East, whereas the South-South has produced only one in person of late Dr Joseph Wayas throughout the long historical period of our national life as an independent nation.
d. In the just concluded national elections in Nigeria, total contribution of the South-East to electoral victories and fortunes of APC, the ruling party, was ridiculously minimal, whereas South-South’s overall contribution in the same regard was massively monumental.
e. Personal or individual contributions of South-East to APC’s electoral fortune is abysmal compared to that of South-South. Of a fact, statistics don’t lie. For example, in the last presidential election, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu, the zone’s contender for the Senate Presidency, scored 30,805 votes to win his senatorial seat and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC’s presidential flagbearer in the election held same time and day, scored a paltry 8,914 votes in the same Abia State.
f. On the other hand, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, the South-South candidate, scored 115, 401 votes to make it to the Senate of the 10th National Assembly in his state. In the February election, the President-Elect got 160,620 votes from Akwa-Ibom State alone while he got a total of 127,605 votes from the entire five Southeastern States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. The implication of all these is that in the race for Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly, any candidate from the South-East is running from a position of serious disadvantage. Thus, as it has been established by President Muhammadu Buhari as well as openly reiterated by the President-Elect during last electioneering campaigns, there will be no more room for “monkey dey work, baboons dey chop”in the sharing of political fortunes that came with the electoral victory of the APC at the last polls.
g. We are convinced that it cannot be underestimated that THE NORTH, as a political unit, will not play a remarkable role in who becomes next President of the Senate of Federal Republic of Nigeria. From all available facts, the South-South candidate is banked to be the region’s choice. A symbolic attestation to this is the fact that a group from Nasarawa State, like many others from the region, has started to openly canvass for Sen. Akpabio for the Senate Presidency. The group, Senator Godswill Akpabio for Common Good (SGACG), in publications in some Nigerian dailies recently, called on all senators-elect for the 10th Senate to vote for Senator Godswill Akpabio as the next Senate president of Nigeria.
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The Chairman of the group, Musa Yahaya Azara, made the request on behalf of the SGACG at a press conference in Lafia, Nasarawa State. While noting that all the other aspirants for the office of the Senate President were experienced and qualified, Azara remarked that Akpabio, who is the Dan Amanan of Azara in Nasarawa State, was more deserving for the purpose of national unity and fairness.
Attesting to the points we already made above, he maintained that “it is worth of mentioning that all geopolitical zones of the country have had a fair share of the office, but the South-South has been marginalised for a long time, considering their contributions to the national treasury.” He also stressed that Akpabio, being a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, former Senate Minority Leader, and a former minister, is very experienced and qualified for the post of President of the Senate of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Additionally, Azara remarked that Senator Akpabio contributed immensely to the success of the APC presidential primaries last year as he was the first presidential aspirant to step down and throw his support behind Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a situation that reduced and doused the palpable tension at the APC presidential primaries at the Eagle Square, venue of the event in Abuja at that historic occasion.
Finally, he described Akpabio as an uncommon leader who always stands for the people, irrespective of their ethnic and religious affiliations.
Obviously, Azare has marshalled most of facts nationally known and appreciated about Senator Godswill Akpabio’s capacity and capability as a prime Nigerian political leader with legitimate claim to the Senate Presidency, suffice to add here that the uncommon pace-setting Nigerian leader from the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria is also a quintessential lawyer.
Finally, it is universal knowledge that in his eight years as the Executive Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, he out-performed all his contemporaries in every sphere of governance in Nigeria that he was (and still being) nationally and admiringly called the UNCOMMON GOVERNOR; a feat he also replicated as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We honestly hold that these are testimonials to our belief that H.E., Senator Godswill Akpabio, is the most qualified man for Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly./SHARE THIS
–Signed: Otunba Dapo Olaosebikan
Chairman, Great Nigeria Group, GNG, (09097317371), Abuja.
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