The alleged choice of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the consensus candidate for the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly has ignited a fresh battle between two powerful groups within the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party in the country.
The battle for supremacy is between the handlers of President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and some loyalists of President Muhammadu Buhari as the choice of Akpabio has not gone down well with the latter group.
Akpabio was said to had emerged the consensus candidate of the APC Caucus for the Senate Presidency after intensive lobby, horse trading and endorsement by the President Elect, Bola Tinubu and other party leaders.
However, some loyalists of the outgoing President have interpreted the choice of the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State as antithesis to the fight against corruption by the Buhari administration and a poor a poor image projection for the country. The group, which met over the weekend claimed Akpabio cannot be the face of the Parliament given his alleged brushes with the anti- graft agencies and has therefore vowed to stop him.
A member of the group who spoke with a select group of journalists in Abuja on Sunday, said they were raising the red flag against Akpabio not only to protect the legacy of Buhari and his anti corruption fight but to also to safeguard the integrity of the parliament as a pillar of democracy in the country.
The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity, argued that that the outgoing President having been a symbol of anti corruption in Nigeria and beyond would not support anything that could rubbish the records of the past eight years.
“We, as loyalists of President Muhammadu Buhari, are quite proud of his achievements as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has served Nigeria well and we want the world to remember him for the great things he has done for the country particularly as a clean and incorruptible Nigerian and a global corruption-free personality.
“The person they are projecting for the position in question is at present facing corruption charges and has been invited to meet officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by Tuesday, May 9, 2023 over cases of money laundering running to billions of Naira,” he said.
