The Director-General of Akpabio Campaign Council, Senator Ali Ndume, on Monday, told journalists in Abuja, that 15 Senators-elect from the South East, met with Akpabio, where they allegedly endorsed the candidacy of the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
This was a source from the South East Senators-elect debunked Ndume’s claim, saying that it was a propaganda, designed to blackmail the Senators-elect from the region.
Speaking, Ndume disclosed that two leading contenders for the position of the President of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Osita Izunaso, were also at the meeting.
He also hinted that the outgoing President of the 9th Senate, Ahmad Lawan, also met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Godswill, where the Yobe Senator reportedly promised to help deliver Akpabio on Tuesday.
If the purported endorsement is true, it means that Abdul’aziz Yari’s bid, may have hit the rocks and his plans of truncating the All Progressives Congress (APC) zoning arrangement, may have also failed.
Ndume said further that former governors from the North, who hitherto refused to support Akpabio, have also made a U-turn and resolved to back his ambition. He listed Danjuma Goje, Aliyu Wamakko, Adamu Aliero, among others as those supporting him.
He revealed that Sani Musa, who had settled for the position of the Deputy President of the Senate, had also stepped down and endorsed Jibrin Barau for the office.
However, when New Telegraph contacted a source among South East Senators-elect, he described claims of full support for Akpabio by Senators-elect from the South East as mere propaganda, urging Nigerians to wait till Tuesday and see how the race would turn out.
He said, “we were holding a meeting of South East Senators at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja when Akpabio got wind of it and came in.
“He addressed us and requested that we take a group picture with him. Little did we know that he would use the picture as a weapon of propaganda and blackmail.”
