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May 8, 2023
The ruling party is expected to produce the presiding officers of the National Assembly because it has majority members.
The ruling All Progressives Congress National Working Committee has nominated Godswill Akpabio, a former Minister of Niger Delta affairs, as the President of the Senate and Abbas Tajudeen, a ranking member as the House of Representatives Speaker.
The ruling party is expected to produce the presiding officers of the National Assembly because it has majority members.
SaharaReporters had reported how Akpabio was putting pressure on other senators-elect to endorse him as the sole candidate for the Senate Presidency.
Top sources in the ruling APC had also said Akpabio, a senator-elect, has been throwing around the name of the "president-elect", Bola Tinubu, saying he has his support and using that to further pressurise the senators-elect.
Akpabio is among the nine contenders for the Senate presidency of the 10th Assembly, which is expected to be inaugurated in June.
Tinubu, who returned to the country last Monday, April 24, after spending weeks on a medical trip to Paris, France, has met with some leaders of the All Progressives Congress, governors as well as members-elect of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Among those who met with the "President-elect" were Akpabio (APC/Akwa Ibom) and Barau Jibrin (APC/Kano).
SaharaReporters recently exclusively published a story about how Senator Akpabio refused to honour an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on the excuse of ill health.
The newspaper also reported that the EFCC had re-invited Akpabio over allegations of abuse of office and misappropriation of billions of Naira.
The EFCC earlier invited Akpabio to appear for questioning on March 29 but the lawyer representing the Senator-elect, Umeh Kalu (SAN), in a letter to the anti-graft agency said his client would be unable to honour the invitation due to his ill health.
The lawyer said Akpabio was undergoing treatment for pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmia and therefore asked the antigraft agency to pick another date.
According to the lawyer, Akpabio had already arranged medical appointments overseas.
However, SaharaReporters recently obtained another letter from the EFCC asking Akpabio to come to its headquarters in Abuja on May 9, 2023.
The letter titled, ‘Investigation Activities Re: Senator Godswill Akpabio's Appointment Letter Of Invitation’ was signed by ACE II SM Ala, Head, CMU-1.