10 Things to Know About Nigeria’s New Senate President Godswill Akpabio

Former two-term Akwa Ibom State governor, Senator, Godswill Akpabio, has been elected as the 10th Senate President.

Akpabio who was also a former minister has finally emerged as the new Senate President to put to bed the controversies that have been surrounding who leads Nigeria’s red chamber.

His emergence came after the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly as he defeated Senator Abdulaziz Yari to emerge as the Senate President.

Epiczone.ng gathers 10 things to know about the newly elected Senate President.

1. Akapbio is believed by many to be the preferred candidate of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress.

2. He served as a Minister of Niger Delta Affairs under the immediate past administration and former two-term Akwa Ibom State governor.

3. Akpabio is not just a politician, he is also a Nigerian lawyer.

4. He resigned as a minister on 11 May 2022, on the directive of former president Muhammadu Buhari to contest in the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress which he stepped down for President Bola Tinubu.

5. Akpabio also served briefly as a teacher and as an associate partner with Paul Usoro and Co., a law firm in Nigeria.

6. In 2002, the new Senate President was appointed Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources by the administration of Governor Obong Victor Attah in Akwa Ibom State.

7. In 2015, he contested and won the Senate seat of the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

8. Akpabio was nominated for the position of Senate Minority Leader by the South-South caucus of the PDP.

9. In August 2018, he resigned as the Senate Minority Leader after he had announced his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

10. He was under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on accusations that he diverted over 100 billion Naira from Akwa Ibom State during his time as governor (2007-2015).