How Godswill Akpabio cleared road for himself to Senate Presidency
The ex Akwa Ibom State governor Godswill Akpabio might have performed the needed and required “sacrifice” so he can ascend the throne and become the next president of the Senate, the number three citizen of the country.
Akpabio had won the senatorial seat allocated for his Akwa Ibom North West district and he will be among the experienced lawmakers who will jostle for the job. Mr. Ahmad Lawan currently occupies the seat.
The tsunami of the Obedient movement couldn’t sweep him away. The People’s Democratic Party had always won the oil rich state since 1999. That factor should even be enough to stop Akpabio from winning the senatorial district election.
The movement could have also stopped him if the PDP couldn’t do so. Yet he was able to win the election. Apart from that, he enabled the All Progressives Congress to get the necessary and constitutional 25% from Akwa Ibom State.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu got 160 thousand votes in that south-south state. Truly, the PDP’s Atiku Abubakar won that state, the number of votes the All Progressives Congress got was unprecedented.
Akpabio must have done his homework. That should be enough for him to climb the ladder and step up. He did his homework and the results are clear. Meanwhile, that is not even the main factor that would catapult him to power in the National Assembly.
He stepped down for Bola Tinubu during the primary election of the All Progressives Congress. That was surprising. Mr. Akpabio didn’t do it covertly, he took the stage and announced to the 93 delegates from Akwa Ibom to vote for Bola Tinubu.
He told the delegates that he shared the same view with the ex Lagos state governor. That should be the clincher that paved the way for him. He was therefore instrumental to the success of Tinubu in the primary election.
At that time, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, the then minister of transportation, was in the race as well. Akpabio could have thrown his weight behind the ex minister because they are both from the same geopolitical zone. He however preferred Bola Tinubu.
The race for the Senate Presidency would have started. Interested aspirants would have begun their underground work so as to emerge when the 11 assembly begins.
Akpabio can look up to the president-elect for his own ambition if he has it as being rumoured in some quarters of the media.
Follow us on social media
